These readings from the Zuo Zhuan were translated by James Legge
in The Chinese Classics, vol. 5 (reprinted by Hong Kong University Press, 1960). They were
selected and entered by Brother Andrew Thornton, O.S.B., Saint Anselm College,
Manchester, New Hampshire.
Some narratives were included because they show court
functionaries educating their rulers (or trying to) in the virtues of REN
(humaneness) and LI (propriety/ceremonial conduct founded upon the example of
the ancient sage rulers), both virtues being indispensable for realizing HE
(genuine harmony in political and personal conduct). Other passages present
memorable examples of wise and reasonable conduct or wily techniques for
survival. Still others show people consulting the Yi Jing; the consulter is
often advised that divination and omens cannot substitute for DE, the strength
of character whereby someone acts rightly and in line with heaven and the
Spirits and so becomes attractive (lit. "bright") to people. Several
accounts were included because they show officials quoting from the ancient
SHI, the Odes, to negotiate, to remonstrate, and to show their erudition. Finally,
some narratives were included simply because they are good stories.
Many narratives from the Zuo Zhuan, a few of which are
included here, were translated by Burton Watson in his: The Tso Chuan:
Selections From China’s Oldest Narrative History (New York: Columbia U. Press,
1989). His selection "is designed for persons who do not feel inclined to
work their way through the entire text but wish to familiarize themselves with
its most famous and influential narratives and get some sense of its style and
principal idea. I have naturally attempted to select passages that form a more
or less complete entity or deal with a single train of events, such as a
military campaign or a political revolution" (p. xxxv). Legge’s romanization
of Chinese proper names has been turned into pinyin. Some small changes in
punctuation and (in a very few places) vocabulary have also been made.
Citations from the Odes are identified by their Mao number, which can be used
to find the ode in the editions by Legge and Arthur Waley (The Book of Songs, Grove Press 1960 [1st ed.
1937]).
Legge's romanization has been turned into pinyin. Some small
changes in punctuation and (in a very few places) vocabulary have also been
made. The text is in the public domain and may be freely used. Comments,
corrections, and suggestions for further inclusions may be directed to Brother
Andrew at this address: athornto@anselm.edu

Click on the duke's name to go to that selection.Click
on INDEX to return here.<div align="right">

</div>note: In the
"LEGGE" column, the first set of numbers gives the page and column
(counting from the right) of the Chinese text; the second number is the page on
which the English translation can be found.Thus "124/9; 125" reads: page 124, column
9; page 125.

Duke
Yin, 1st Year, 721 BC (Legge, p. 1, col. 15 & & p. 5, col. 2)Mother and Son: alienation and reconciliation
Duke Wu of Zheng married a woman of
the house of Shen, called Wu Jiang, who bore two duke Zhuang and his brother
Duan of Gong. Duke Zhuang was born as she was waking from sleep, which
frightened the layd so that she named him Wu Sheng [born in waking]. She hated
him, while she loved Duan and wished him to be declared his father’s heir.
Often did she ask this of duke Wu, but he refused it.
When duke Zhuang came to the
earldom, she begged him to confer on Duan the city of Zhi. "It is too
dangerous a place," was the reply. "The younger of Guo died there,
but in regard to any other place, you may command me." She then requested
Jing, and there Duan took up his residence and came to be styled Tai Shu [the
Great Younger] of Jing city.
Zhong of Ji said to the duke,
"Any metropolitan city, whose wall is more than 3,000 cibits round, is
dangerous to the state. According to the regulations of the former kings, such
a city of the first order can have its wall only a third as long as that of the
capital; one of the second order, only a fifth as long; and one of the least
order, only a ninth. Now Jing is not in accordance with these measures and
regulations. As ruler, you will not be able to endure Duan in such a
place." The duke replied, "It was our mother's wish. How could I
avoid the danger?" "The lady Jiang," returned the officer,
"is not to be satisfied. You had better take the necessary precautions and
not allow the danger to grow so great that it will be difficult to deal with
it. Even grass, when it has grown and spread all about, cannot be removed. How
much less the brother of yourself, and the favored brother as well!" The
duke said, "By his many deeds of unrighteousness he will bring destruction
on himself. Just wait a while."
After this Tai Shu ordered the
places on the western and northern borders of the state to render to himself
the same allegiance as they did to the earl. Then Gong Zi Lü said to the duke,
"A state cannot sustain the burden of two services. What will you do now?
If you wish to give Zheng to Tai Shu, allow me to serve him as a subject. If
you do not mean to give it to him, allow me to put him out of the way, so that
the minds of the people be not perplexed." "There is no need,"
the duke replied, "for such a step. His calamity will come of
itself."
Tai Shu went on to take as his own
the places from which he had required their divided contributions, as far as
Lin Yan. Zi Feng [i.e., Gong Zi Lü] said, "Now is the time. With these
enlarged resources, he will draw all the people to himself." The duke
replied, "They will not cleave to him, so unrighteous as he is. Through
his prosperity he will fall the more."
Tai Shu worked at his defences,
gathered the people about him, put in order buff-coats and weapons, prepared
footmen and chariots, intending to surprise Zheng, while his mother was to open
to him from within. The duke heard the time agreed on between them and said,
"Now we can act." So he ordered Zi Feng, with 200 chariots to attack
Jing. Jing revolted from Tai Shu, who then entered Yan, which the duke himself
proceeded to attack. In the fifth month, on the day Xin Chou, Tai Shu fled from
it to Gong.
In the words of the text [of the
Chun Qiu]: "The earl of Zheng overcame Duan in Yan," Duan is not
called the earl’s younger brother, because he did not show himself to be such.
They were as two hostile princes, and therefore we have the word
"overcame." The duke is styled the earl of Zheng simply to condemn
him for his failure to instruct his brother properly. Duan’s flight is not
mentioned, because it was difficult to do so, having in mind Zheng’s wish [that
Duan might be killed].
Immediately after these events, Duke
Zhuang placed his mother Jiang in Xing Ying and swore an oath, saying, "I
will not see you again, till I have reached the yellow spring [i.e., till I am
dead, and under the yellow earth]." But he repented of this. Some time
later Ying Kao Shu, the border-warden of the valley of Ying, heard of it and
presented an offering to the duke, who caused food to be placed before him. Kao
Shu put a piece of meat on one side, and when the duke asked the reason, he
said, "I have a mother who always shares in what I eat. But she has not
eaten of this meat which you, my ruler, have given, and I beg to be allowed to
leave this piece for her." The duke said, "You have a mother to give
it to. Alas! I alone have none." Kao Shu asked what the duke meant, who
then told him all the circumstances, and how he repented of his oath. "Why
should you be distressed about that?" said the officer. "If you dig
into the earth to the yellow springs and then make a subterranean passage where
you can meet each other, who can say that your oath is not fulfilled?" The
duke followed this suggestion, and as he entered the passage, he sang:
This
great tunnel, within,
With
joy doth run.
When his mother came out, she sang:
This
great tunnel, without,
The
joy flies about.
After this they were mother and son as before.
A superior man may say, "Ying
Kao Shu was filial indeed. His love for his mother passed over to and affected
Duke Zhuang. Was there not here an illustration of what is said in the Book of
Poetry:
A
filial son of piety unfailing
There
shall for ever be conferred blessing on you.

Duke
Yin, 5th year, 717 BC(Legge p. 15, col. 9 & p. 16, par. 6)Shi Que has his own son put to death
Zhou Yu, finding himself unable to
attach the people to himself, [Shi Que's son] Hou asked his father how to
establish the prince [in the State]. Shi said, "It may be done by his
going and having an audience of the king."
"But how can this audience be
obtained?"
"Duke Huan of Chen,"
replied the father, "is now in favor with the king, and Chen and Wei are
on friendly terms. If the [marquis] go to the court of Chen and get the duke to
ask an audience for him, it may be got."
At this, How went with Zhou Yu to
Chen, but Shi Que sent information to Chen, saying, "The State of Wei is
narrow and small, and I am aged and can do nothing. These two men are the real
murderers of my prince, and I venture [to ask] that you will instantly take the
[proper] measures with them."
The people of Chen made them
prisoners and requested Wei to send and manage the rest. In the ninth month,
the people of Wei sent Chou, the Superintendent of the Right, who put Zhou Yu
to death at Pu, and Shi Que sent his steward, Nao Yang Jian, who put Shi Hou to
death in [the capital] of Chen.
A superior man may say, "Shi
Que was a minister without blemish. He hated Zhou Yu, with whom [his own son]
How was art and part. And did he not thus afford an illustration of the saying
that great righteousness is supreme over the affections?"

<div align="right">INDEXDuke Yin, year 5, 717 B.C., Legge p. 17, col. 1, &
p. 18The ruler should not be concerned with how to catch fish.[The Chun Qiu has: In his fifth year, in spring, the duke went to see the
fishermen at Tang.]
The duke was about to go to Tang to see the fishermen; Zang Xi Bo remonstrated
with him, saying: "All [pursuit] of creatures in which the great affairs
[of the state] are not illustrated, and when they do not supply materials
available for use in its various requirements, the ruler does not engage in.
Into the idea of a ruler it enters that he lead and help the people on to what
should be observed and all the ramifications thereof. Hence the practice of
exercises in measurement of the degrees of what should be observed is called
fixing the rule, and the obtaining of materials supplied thereby for the
ornament of the various requirements [of the state] is [the guiding principle]
to show what creatures should be pursued. Where there are not such mea-
surement and no such materials, the government is one of disorder, and the
frequent indulgence in a government of disorder is the way to ruin.
"In accordance with this, there are the spring hunting,
the summer hunting, the autumn hunting, and the winter hunting, all in the
intervals of husbandry, for the illustration of [one great] business [of states].
Then every three years, there is the [grand] military review. When it is over,
the troops are all led back, and their return is announced by the cup of
spirits in the temple--all to take reckoning of the accoutrements and spoils,
to display the various blazonry, to exhibit the noble and the mean, to
distinguish the observance of order and ranks, to show the proper difference
between the young and the old, to practice the various observances of
discipline.
"Now when the birds and beasts are such that their
flesh is not presented in the sacrificial vessels, and their skins, hides,
teeth, bones, horns, feathers, and hair are not used in the furniture of the
state, it was the ancient rule that our dukes should not shoot them. With the
creatures found in the mountains, forests, streams and marshes, with the
materials for ordinary articles of use, with the business of underlings, and
with the charge of inferior officers--with all these the ruler has nothing to
do."
The duke said: "I will walk over the country," and
so he went, had the fishermen drawn up in order, and looked at their
operations. Xi Bo gave out that he was ill and did not accompany him. The text,
"The duke reviewed a display of the fishermen at Tang," intimates the
impropriety [FEI LI] of the affair and tells moreover how far off the place
was.INDEX<div align="right"></div>

Duke
Huan, year 2, 709 B.C.,Legge p. 37, col. 15, & 40Virtue is displayed by the customary signs, not by ill-gotten gain.[The Chun Qiu has: In summer, in the fourth month, the duke brought the
tripod of
Gao from Song, and on the day mo-shin deposited it in the Grand Temple.]
This act of the duke was not proper, and Cang Ai Bo
remonstrated with him, saying: "He who is a ruler of men
makes it his object to illustrate his virtue and to repress in others what is
wrong, that he may shed an enlightening influence on his officers. He is still
afraid lest in any way he should fail to accomplish these things, and moreover
he seeks to display excellent virtue for the benefit of his posterity. Thus it
is that his ancestral temple has a roof of thatch; the mats in his grand
chariot are only of graaa; the grand soups [as used in sacrifice] are without
condiments; the millets are not finely cleaned--all these are illustrations of
his thrift. His robe, cap, knee-covers, and mace; his girdle, lower robe,
buskins, and shoes; the cross-piece of his cap, its stopper pendants, its
fastening strings, and its crown--all these illustrate his observance of the
statutory measures. His gem-mats and his scabbard, with its ornaments above and
below; his belt, with its descending ends; the streamers of his flags and the
ornaments at his horses' breasts--these illustrate his attention to the regular
degrees of rank. The flames, the dragons, the axes, and the symbol of
distinction represented on his robes--these illustrate the elegance of his
taste. The five colors laid on in accordance with the appearances of
nature--these illustrate with what propriety his articles are made. The bells
on his horses' foreheads and bits, and those on his carriage pole and on his
flags--these illustrate his knowledge of sounds. The sun, moon and stars
represented on his flags--these illustrate the brightness of
his intelligence.
"Now when thus virtuously thrifty and observant of the
statutes, attentive to the degrees of high and low; his character stamped on
his elegant robes and his carriage; sounded forth also and brightly
displayed--when thus he presents himself for the enlightenment of his offers,
they are struck with awe and do not dare to depart from the rules and laws.
"But now you are extinguishing your virtue and have
given your support to a man altogether bad. You have placed moreover the bribe
received from him in the grand temple, to exhibit it to your officers. If your
officers copy your example, on what ground can you punish them? The ruin of
states and clans takes its rise from the corruption of the officers. Officers
lose their virtue when the fondness for bribes on the part of their ruler is
displayed to them. And here is the tripod of Gao in your temple, so that this
could not be more plainly displayed! When king Wu had subdued Shang, he removed
the nine tripods to the city of Luo, and the righteous men, it
would appear, condemned him for it. But what can be said when this bribe is
seen in the grand temple, this bribe of wickedness and disorder?"
The duke did not listen to the remonstrance, but when Zhou's
historiographer of the interior heard of it, he said, "Cang Sun Da shall
have posterity in Lu! His prince was doing wrong, and he negleted not to
administer to him virtuous reproof."<div align="right">INDEX

Duke
Zhuang, 10th Year, 683 BC (Legge, p. 85, col. 1 & p. 86, col. 1)Victory depends on the loyalty of the troops and on the prudent strategy
of commanders.
In his tenth year, in spring, the
army of Qi invaded our state, and the duke was about to fight, when one Cao Gui
requested to be introduced to him. One of Gui's fellow villagers said to him,
"The flesh-eaters are planning for the occasion. What have you to do to
intermeddle?" He replied, "The flesh-eaters are poor creatures and
cannot form any far-reaching plans."
So he entered and was introduced. He
asked the duke what encouragement he had to fight. The duke said, "Clothes
and food minister to my repose, but I do not dare to monopolize them. I make it
a point to share them with others." "That," replied Gui,
"is but small kindness and does not reach to all. The people will not
follow you for that." The duke said, "In the victims, the gems, and the
silks, used in sacrifice, I do not dare to go beyond the appointed rules. I make it a point to be
sincere." "That is but small sincerity; it is not perfect. The
spirits will not bless you for that." The duke said again, "In all matters of legal
process, whether small or great, although I may not be able to search them out thoroughly, I make it a point to decide
according to the real circumstances." "That," answered Gui,
"bespeaks a loyal-heartedness. You may venture one battle on that. When
you fight, I beg to be allowed to attend you." The duke took him with him
in his chariot.
The battle was fought in Chang Shuo.
The duke was about to order the drums to beat an advance, when Gui said,
"Not yet." And after the men of Qi had advanced three times with
their drums beating, he said, "Now is the time." The army of Qi
received a severe defeat, but when the duke was about to dash after them, Gui again said, "Not yet." He
then got down and examined the tracks left by their chariot wheels, remounted,
got on the front-bar, and looked after the flying enemy. After this he said,
"Pursue," which the duke did.
When the victory had been secured,
the duke asked Gui the reasons of what he had done. "In fighting,"
was the reply, "all depends on the courageous spirit. When the drums first
beat, that excites the spirit. A second advance occasions a diminution of the
spirit, and with a third, it is exhausted. With our spirit at the highest
pitch, we fell on them with their spirit exhausted, and so we conquered them.
But it is difficult to fathom a great state. I was afraid there might be an
ambush. I looked therefore at the traces of their wheels and found them all confused; I
looked after their flags, and they were drooping. Then I gave the order to pursue them." <div
align="right">

Duke
Zhuang, 22nd Year, 671 B.C. (Legge, p. 102, col. 8 & p. 103, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
Duke Li of Chen was the son of a
daughter of the house of Cai. In consequence, the people of Cai put to death Wu
Fu and raised him [ i.e., Li] to the marquisate. He begat Jing Zhong, during
whose boyhood there came one of the historiographers of Zhou to see the marquis
of Chen, having with him the Zhou Yi. The marquis made him consult it by the
milfoil [on the future of the boy], when he found the diagram Guan, and then by
the change of manipulation, the diagram Pi.
"Here," he said, "is
the deliverance: ‘We behold the light of the state. This is auspicious for one
to be the king’s guest.’ [cf. the Yi on the 4th line of the diagram Guan].
Shall this boy in his generation possess the state of Chen? Or if he do not
possess this state, does it mean that he shall possess another? Or is the thing
foretold not of his own person but of his descendants? The light is far off,
and its brightness appears reflected from something else. Kun [lower trigram of
Guan] represents the earth; Xun [upper trigram of Guan], wind; Qian [top
trigram of Pi], heaven. Xun becoming Qian over earth [as in the diagram Pi]
represents mountains. [Thus this boy] has all the treasures of mountains, and
is shone on by the light of heaven. He will dwell above the earth. Hence it is
said, ‘We behold the light of the state. This is auspicious for him to be the
king’s guest.’ A king’s guest fills the royal courtyard with the display of all
the productions [of his state], and the offerings of gems and silks, all excellent
things of heaven and earth. Hence it is said: ‘It is auspicious for him to be
the king’s guest.’ But there is still that word, ‘Behold,’ and therefore I say
the thing perhaps is to be hereafter. And the wind moves and appears upon the
earth. Therefore I say it is to be perhaps in another state. If it be in
another state, it must be in that of the Jiang, for the Jiang are the
descendants of the Grand Mountain [Yao’s chief minister]. But the mountains
stand up as it were the mates of heaven. There cannot be two things equally
great. As Chen decays, this boy will flourish."
When Qin received its first great
blow [in 533 B.C.], Chen Huan [the representative of the Gongzi Huan in the 5th
generation] had begun to be great in Qi. When it finally perished [in 477
B.C.], the officer Cheng was directing the government of the state.

Duke
Zhuang, year 32, 661 B.C., Legge p. 119, col. 4, & p. 120
When disaster is immanent, the ruler listens to spirits.
In autumn, in the seventh month, there was the descent of a
spirit in Xin [Xin belonged to Guo]. King Hui asked Guo, the historiographer of
the interior, the reason for it, and he replied:
"When a state is about to flourish, intellient spirits
descend into it, to survey its virtue. When it is going to perish, spirits also
descend into it, to behold its wickedness. Thus there have been instances of
states flourishing from spirits appearing, and also of states perishing. Cases
in point might be adduced from the dynasties of Yu, Xia, Shang, and Zhou."
The king then asked what should be done in the case of this
spirit, and Guo replied: "Present to it its own proper offerings, which
are those proper to the day on which it came." The king acted accordingly,
and the historiographer went [to Guo and presented the offerings]. There he
heard that [the duke of] Guo had been requesting the favor [of enlarged
territory] from the spirit, and on his return, he said, "Guo is sure to
perish. The duke is oppressive and listens to spirits."
The spirit stayed in Xin six months, when the duke of Guo
caused the prayer-master Ying, the superintendent of the ancestral temple Qiu,
and the historiographer Yin to sacrifice to the spirit, and the spirit
[promised] to give him territory. The historiographer Yin said, "Ah! Guo
will perish. I have heard that, when a state is about to flourish, [its ruler]
listens to the people; when it is about to perish, he listens to spirits. The
spirits are intelligent, correct, and impartial. How they act depends on human
beings. The coldness of Guo's virtue [DE] extends to many things. How can any
increase of territory be obtained."<div align="right">INDEX

Duke
Min, 1st Year, 660 B.C.(Legge, p. 124, col. 9 & p. 125, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
At an earlier period, Bi Wan had
divined by the milfoil about his becoming an officer of Jin and obtained the
diagram Zhun, and afterwards, by the manipulation, Bi. Xin Liau interpreted it
to be lucky. "Zhun," he said, "indicates firmness, and Bi
indicates entering. What could be more fortunate? He must become numerous and
prosperous. Moreover, the symbol Zhen [lower trigram of Zhun] becomes that for
the earth [the lower trigram of Bi]. Carriages and horses follow one another;
he has feet to stand on; an elder brother’s lot; the protection of a mother,
and is the attraction of the multitudes. These six indications [arising from
the change of the lowest line in the diagram Zhun] will not change. United,
they indicate his firmness; in their repose, they indicate his majesty. The
divination is that of a duke or a marquis. Himself the descendant of a duke [Bi
Wan was descended from one of the lords of Bi, but of the early history of that
principality we know nothing], his posterity shall return to the original
dignity."

Duke
Min, 2nd Year, 659 B.C.(Legge, p. 126, col. 10 & p. 129, col. 1)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
Just before the birth of Zheng Ji,
duke Huan made the father of Chu Qiu, master of the diviners, consult the
tortoise-shell, which he did, saying, "It will be a boy, whose name shall
be called You. His place will be at the right of the duke, between the two
altars of the land. He shall be a help to the ducal house, and when the family
of Ji shall perish, Lu will not flourish."
He also consulted the milfoil about
the child and obtained the diagram Da You, and then Qian. "He shall come
back," said he, "to the same distinction as his father. They shall
reverence him as if he were in their ruler’s place." When the boy was
born, there was a figure on his hand, that of the character "you,"
and he was named accordingly. <div
align="right">

Duke
Xi, 4th Year—655 BC(Legge, p. 139, col. 1 & p. 141, col. 1)It is DE, virtue, that ensures victory, not military might.
[The marquis of Qi, at the head of an allied host, has invaded Chu.]
In summer, the viscount of Chu sent
Qu Wan to the army of the allies, which retired, and halted at Zhao Ling. The
marquis of Qi had the armies of all the princes drawn up in array and took Qu
Wan with him in the same carriage to survey them. He then said, "Is it on
my unworthy account that these are here? No, but in continuation of the
friendship of the princes with my predecessors. What do you think of Chu's
being on the same terms of friendship with me?" Qu Wan replied, "If
from your lordship's favor the altars of our land and grain may receive
blessing, and you will condescend to receive our prince, this is his
wish." The marquis then said, "Fighting with these multitudes, who
can withstand me? What city could sustain their attack?" "If your
lordship," was the reply, "by your virtue, seek the tranquillity of
the states, who will dare not to submit to you? But if you depend on your
strength, our state of Chu has the hill of Fang Cheng for a wall and the Han
for a moat.Great as your multitudes are, you could not use them." Qu Wan
made a covenant on the part of Chu with the princes. <div
align="right">

Duke
Xi, 7th Year—652 BC(Legge, p. 143, col. 12 & p. 145, col. 2)Only DE, virtue, counts in the favor of Heaven and spirits.
[note: "Virtue" in the text translates the Chinese DE. At this time,
the word's primary meaning was not "morally upright conduct." David
Nivison describes the term [in his The Ways of Confucianism, p. 25-6], as
"gratitude credit." He goes on to say: "The compulsion I feel to
respond appropriately. . . when you do something for me or give me something is
a compulsion I feel so strongly that I come to think of it not as a psychic
configuration in myself, but as a psychic power emanating from you, causing me
to orient myself toward you. That power is your de—your
"virtue" or "moral force." . . . [The king], by his
position, is able to generate this relationship between himself and others in
all directions—vis-a-vis members of his family, ministers in his court,
his many subjects, his enemies, the spirits above, future generations. It will
come to be felt that this is what he must do if he is to be a genuine king, and
that there is something terribly wrong with him if he doesn't." Note also
the use of de—virtue in Duke Xi, 4th Year.]
The marquis of Jin again borrowed a
way through Yu to attack Guo. Gong Zhi Qi remonstrated with the duke of Yu,
saying, "Guo is the external defense of Yu. If Guo perish, Yu is sure to
follow it. A way should not be opened to the greed of Jin; robbers are not to
be played with. To do it once was more than enough, and will you do it a second
time? The common sayings, 'The carriage and its wheel-aids [poles attached to a
cart to keep it from tipping over] depend on one another,' and, 'When the lips
perish, the teeth become cold,' illustrate the relation between Guo and
Yu."
The duke said, "The princes of
Jin and Yu are descended from the same ancestor. How should Jin injure
us?" The minister replied, "Tai Bo and Yu Zhong were sons of King
Tai, but because Tai Bo would not follow him against Shang, he did not inherit
his state. Guo Zhong and Guo Shu were sons of King Ji and ministers of King
Wan. Their merits in the service of the royal house are preserved in the
repository of covenants. If Guo be extinguished by Jin, what love is it likely
to show to Yu? And can Yu claim a nearer kindred to Jin than the descendants of
Huan and Zhuang, that Jin should show love to it? What crime had the families
descended from Huan and Zhuang been guilty of? And yet Jin destroyed them
entirely, feeling that they might press on it. Its near relatives, whom it
might have been expected to favor, it yet put to death, because their greatness
pressed upon it. What may not Jin do to you, when there is your state to
gain?"
The duke said, "My sacrificial
offerings have been abundant and pure; the spirits will not forsake but will
sustain me." His minister replied, "I have heard that the spirits do
not accept the persons of men, but that it is virtue to which they cleave. Hence
in the Books of Zhou we read, 'Great Heaven has no affections; it helps only
the virtuous'[Legge, vol. 3, p. 490], and, 'It is not the millet which has the
piercing fragrance; it is bright virtue' [Legge, p. 539], and again, 'People do
not slight offerings, but it is virtue which is the thing accepted' [Legge, p.
347]. Thus if a ruler have not virtue, the people will not be attached to him,
and the spirits will not accept his offerings. What the spirits will adhere to
is a man's virtue. If Jin take Yu and then cultivate bright virtue, and
therewith present fragrant offerings, will the spirits vomit them out?"
The duke did not listen to him but granted the request of the messenger from
Jin.
Gong Zhi Qi went away from Yu with
all the circle of his family, saying, "Yu will not see the winter
sacrifice. Its doom is in this expedition. Jin will not make a second
attempt."
In the eighth month, on jia wu, the
marquis of Jin laid siege to Shang Yang [the chief city of Guo] and asked the
diviner Yan whether he should succeed in the enterprise. Yan replied that he
should, and he then asked when. Yan said, "The children have a song which
says,

Towards daybreak of bing,

Wei of the dragon lies hid in the conjunction of the sun and moon.

With combined energy and grand display

Are advanced the flags to capture Guo.

Grandly appears the Chun star,

And the tian zi is dim.

When huo culminates, the enterprise will be completed,

And the duke of Guo will flee.

According
to this, you will succeed at the meeting of the ninth and tenth months. In the
morning of ping zi, the sun will be in wei, and the moon in zi; the chun huo
will be exactly in the south. This is sure to be the time."

In
winter, in the twelfth month, on bing zi, the first day of the moon, Jin extinguished
Guo, and Chou, the duke, fled to the capital. The army, on its return, took up
its quarters in Yu, surprised the city and extinguished the state, seizing the
duke and his great officer Qing Bo, whom the marquis employed to escort his
daughter, Mu Ji to Qin. The marquis continued the sacrifices of Yu in Jin and
presented to the king the tribute due from it. The brief language of the text
[of the Spring and Autumn Chronicle] is condemnatory of Yu and expresses,
besides, the ease with which Jin annexed it.

Duke
Xi, year 7, 652 BC, Legge p. 148, col. 10, & p.149One who betrays one’s father/ruler is a criminal. [At a conference involving, among others states, Qi and Zheng, the heir to
the earl of Zheng proposes to undercut his father and become subservient to the
marquis of Qi.]
The marquis was about to agree to his proposal, but Guan
Zhong said, "You have bound all the princes to you by your propriety and
truth [LI, XIN], and will it not be improper [JIAN] to end with an opposite
policy? [Here] we should have propriety in the form of no treachery between son
and father, and truth in that of the son's observing [his father's] commands
according to the exigency of the times. There cannot be greater criminality
[JIAN] that that of him who acts contrary to these two things."
"We princes," replied the duke, "have [tried
to] punish Zheng, but without success. And now when such an opportunity is
presented to me, may I not take advantage of it?"
"Let your lordship," said Guan, "deal gently
with the case of Zheng in kindness and add to this an instructive exposition of
it, and then, when you [again] lead the princes to punish the state, it will
feel that utter overthrow is immanent and will be consumed with terror. If [on
the contrary] you deal with it, adopting the counsel of this criminal [JIAN],
Zheng will have a case to allege and will not be afraid. Consider too that you
have assembled the princes to do honor to virtue, and if at the meeting you give
place to this villain, [and follow his counsel,] what will there be to show to
your descendants? And further, the virtue, the punishments, the rules of
propriety, and the righteousness displayed at the meetings of the princes, are
recorded in every state. When record is made of the place given to such a
criminal [JIAN], there will be an end of your lordship's covenants. If you do
the thing and do not record it, that will show that your virtue is not
complete. Let not your lordship accede to his request. Zheng is sure to accept
the covenant. And for this Hua, [the earl of Zheng's] eldest son, to seek the
assistance of a great state to weaken his own--he will not escape without
suffering for it. The government of Zheng, moreover, is in the hands of Shu Zhan,
Du Shu, and Shi Shu, those three good men. You would find no opportunity now to
act against it."
[On this] the marquis of Qi declined the proffers of the
prince, who in consequence of this affair was regarded as a criminal in Zheng.
The earl begged from Qi the favor of a covenant.<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xi, 12th Year—647 BC(Legge, p. 158, col. 1 &
p. 158, par. 1)Reverence is the chariot that conveys the state
The king by Heaven's grace sent duke
Wu of Zhao and Guo, the historiographer of the interior, to confer the symbol
of his rank on the marquis of Jin. He received the nephrite with an air of
indifference, and Guo, on his return to the court, said to the king, "The
marquis of Jin is not one who will have any successor of his own children. Your
majesty conferred on him the symbol of investiture, and he received the
auspicious jade with an air of indifference. Taking the lead thus in
self-abandonment, is he likely to have anyone to succeed him? The rules of
propriety are the stem of a State, and reverence is the chariot that conveys
them along. Where there is not reverence, those rules do not have their course,
and where this is the case, the distinctions of superiors and inferiors are all
obscured. When this occurs, there can be no transmission of a State to after
generations." <div align="right">INDEX</div>

Duke
Xi, 15th Year—644 B.C.(Legge, p.164, col. 11 & p. 167, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
Tu Fu, the diviner, consulted the
milfoil about the expedition [of the earl of Qin to invade Jin], and said,
"A lucky response: cross the He; the prince’s chariots are defeated."
The earl asked to have the thing more fully explained, and the diviner said,
"It is very lucky. Thrice shall you defeat his troops and finally capture
the marquis of Jin. The diagram found is Gu, of which it is said, ‘The thousand
chariots thrice are put to flight. What then remains you catch, the one fox
wight.’ That fox in Gu must be the marquis of Jin. Moreover, the inner symbol
of Gu [Xun - the lower trigram] represents wind, the outer [Gen - the upper
trigram] represents hills. The season of the year is now the autumn. We blow down
the fruits on the hill, and we take the trees. It is plain we are to overcome.
The fruit blown down and the trees taken: what can this be but defeat to
Jin?"

(Legge,
p. 165, col. 12 & p. 169, col. 1)
Years before this, when Duke Xian of
Jin was divining by the milfoil about the marriage of his eldest daughter to
[the earl of] Qin, he got the diagram Gui Mei, and then the diagram Kui. The
historiographer Su interpreted the indication and said, "It is unlucky.
The sentence [on the top line in Gui Mei] is, ‘The man cuts up his sheep, and
there is no blood; the girl presents her basket, but there is no gift in it.’
The neighbor on the west reproaches us for our words which cannot be made good.
And Gui Mei’s becoming Kui is the same as our getting no help [from the union].
For the symbol Zhen [top trigram of Gui Mei] to become Luo [top trigram of Kui]
is the same as for Luo to become Zhen; we have thunder and fire: the Ying
defeating the Ji. The connection between the carriage and its axle is broken; the
fire burns the flags: our military expeditions will be without advantage; there
is defeat in Cong Qiu. In Gui Mei’s becoming Kui we have a solitary, and an
enemy against whom the bow is bent [Legge comments: See the Yi on the top line of
the diagram Kui. But it seems to me of no use trying to make out any principle
of reason in passages like the present.] Then the nephew follows his aunt. In
six years he makes his escape; he flies back ["gui"] to his state,
abandoning his wife. Next year he dies in the wild of Gao Liang."
When Duke Hui came to be in Qin, he
said, "If my father had followed the interpretation of the historiographer
Su, I should not have come to my present condition." Han Jian was by his
side and said, "The tortoise shell gives its figures, and the milfoil its
numbers. When things are produced, they have their figures; their figures go on
to multiply; that multiplication goes on to numbers. Your father’s violations
of virtue were almost innumerable. Although he did not follow the interpretation
of the historiographer Su, how could that increase your misforture? As the ode
says:

The calamities of the inferior people

Do not come down from Heaven.

Fair words and hatred behind the back:

The earnest, strong pursuit of this is from men. (Shi
II, ii, ode IX. 7)

[note
by Legge: In
this paragraph there appears for the first time in the text the great state of
Qin, which went on till it displaced the dynasty of Zhou in about four
centuries from this time.] [The text of the Chun Qiu reads: In the eleventh
month, on Ren Xu, the marquis of Jin and the earl of Qin fought at Han, when
the marquis of Jin was taken.]

Duke
Xi, year 17—642 B.C.(Legge, p. 170, col. 3 & 171, col. 1)It is human beings who produce good and evil fortune.
[In Song, five stones had fallen from the sky and birds had flown backwards.]
At this time, Shu Xing,
historiographer of the interior, was in Song, on a visit of friendly inquiries
from Zhou, and duke Xiang asked him about these strange appearances, saying,
"What are they ominous of? What good fortune or bad do they portend?"
The historiog-rapher replied, "This year there will be the deaths of many
great persons of Lu. Next year Qi will be all in disorder. Your lordship will
get the presidency of the states but will not continue to hold it."
When he retired, he said to some
one, "The king asked me a wrong question. It is not from these
developments of the Yin and Yang that good fortune and evil are produced. They
are produced by men themselves. I answered as I did, because I did not venture
to go against the duke's ideas."

Duke
Xi, year 19—640 B.C.(Legge, p. 176, col. 4 & p. 177, col. 1)It is virtue, DE, that leads to success in warfare.
The attack upon Cao was to punish it
for its not submitting to Song. Zi Yu said to the duke of Song, "King Wen
heard that the marquis of Cong had abandoned himself to disorder and invaded
his state, but after he had been in the field for thirty days, the marquis
tendered no submission. Wen therefore withdrew, and, after cultivating afresh
the lessons of virtue, he again invaded Cong. Then the marquis made submission
before he had quitted his entrenchments. As is said in the Shi [Mao #240],
His example
acted on his wife,
Extended to
his brothers,
And was felt
by all the clans and states.
May it not be presumed that the virtue of your Grace is in some respects
defective, and if, while it is so, you attack others, what will the result be?
Why not for a time give yourself to self-examination and the cultivation of
virtue? You may then proceed to move, when that is without defect." <div align="right">INDEX</div>

Duke
Xi, 25th Year—634 B.C.(Legge, p. 194, col. 3 & p. 195, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
The earl of Qin was with an army on
the He, intending to restore the king, when Hu Yan said to the marquis of Jin,
"If you are seeking the adherence of the states, you can do nothing better
than to show an earnest interest in the king’s behalf. The states will there by
have faith in you, and you will have done an act of great righteousness. Now is
the time to show again such service as was rendered by the marquis Wen and to
get your fidelity proclaimed among the states."
The marquis made the master of
divination, Yan, consult the tortoise-shell about the undertaking. He did so
and said, "The oracle is auspicious: that of Huang Di’s battle in Fan
Quan." The marquis said, "That oracle is too great for me." The
diviner replied, "The rules of Zhou are not changed. The king of today is
the emperor of antiquity." The marquis then said, "Try it by the milfoil."
They consulted the reeds and found the diagram Da You, which then became the
diagram Kui. The diviner said, "This also is auspicious. In this diagram
we have the oracle: ‘A prince presents his offerings to the Son of Heaven.’ A
battle and victory; the king receiving your offerings: What more fortunate
response could there be? Moreover, in these diagrams, the trigram of heaven
[lower trigram of Da You] becomes that of a marsh [lower trigram of Kui] lying
under the sun, indicating how the Son of Heaven condescends to meet your lordship.
Is not this also encouraging? If we leave the diagram Kui and come back to Da
You, it also tells of success where its subject goes."
On this the marquis of Jin declined
the assistance of the army of Qin and went down the He. In the third month, on
Jia-Chen, he halted at Yang Fan, when the army of the right proceeded to invent
Wen and that of the left to meet the king. <div
align="right">

Duke
Xi, year 25, 634 B.C., cont'd(Legge, p. 194, col. 7 & p. 196, col. 1)A duke is refused a burial priviledge proper to kings.
In summer, in the fourth month, on
ding si, the king re-entered the royal city. Tai Shu was taken in Wen and put
to death at Xi Cheng. On wu wu, the marquis of Jin had an audience with the
king, who feasted him with sweet spirits and gave him gifts to increase his
joy. The marquis asked that the privilege of being carried to his grave through
a subterranean passage might be granted him, but the king refused, saying,
"This is the distinction of us kings. Where there is not conduct to
supersede the holders of the kingdom, to make oneself a second king is what you
yourself, my uncle, would hate." Notwithstanding this refusal, the king
conferred on Jin the lands of Yang Fan, Wen, Yuan, Zuan Mao, and Jin proceeded
to occupy the district of Nan Yang. Yang Fan refused to submit, and the troops
of Jin laid siege to it. Cang Ge cried out, "It is virtue by which the
people of the Middle State are cherished. It is by severity that the wild tribes
around are awed. It is right we should not venture to submit to you. Here are
none but the king's relatives and kin. And will you make them captive?" On
this the marquis allowed the people to quit the city.

Duke
Xi, year 26—633 B.C.(Legge p. 197, col. 3 & p. 198, col. 2)Harmony among the states goes back to the Zhou.
Duke Xiao of Qi invaded our northern
borders. Duke Xi sent Zhan Xi to offer provisions to the invading forces,
having first made him receive instructions from Zhan Qin [Xi’s father].
According, before the marquis of Qi had entered our borders, Zhan Xi followed
in his track, came up with him, and said, "My price, hearing that your
lordship was on the march and condescending to come to his small city, has sent
myself, his poor servant, with these presents for your officers." The
marquis asked whether the people of Lu were afraid. "Small people,"
replied Xi, "are afraid, but the superior men are not." "Your
houses," said the marquis, "are empty as a hanging musical stone, and
in your fields there is no green grass. On what do they rely, that they are not
afraid?" Xi answered, "They rely on the charge of a former king.
Formerly the Duke of Zhou and Tai Gong were legs and arms to the House of Zhou
and supported and aided King Zheng, who rewarded them and gave them a charge,
saying, ‘From generation to generation let your descendants refrain from
harming one another.’ It was preserved in the Repository of Charges, under the
care of the Grand Master [of Zhou]. Thus it was that when Duke Huan assembled
the various states, taking measures to cure the want of harmony among them, to
heal their short-comings, and to relieve those who were in distress, in all
this he was illustrating that ancient charge. When your lordship took his
place, all the states were full of hope, saying, ‘He will carry on the
meritorious work of Huan.’ On this account our poor state did not presume to
protect itself by collecting its multitudes; and now we say, ‘Will he, after
possessing Qi nine years, forget that ancient charge and cast aside the duty
enjoined in it? What in that case would his father say?’ Your lordship surely
will not do such a thing. It is on this that we rely and are not afraid."
On this the marquis of Qi returned.

Duke
Xi, 27th Year—632 BC(Legge p. 200 & 201)Three episodes about intelligent ruling and training of the people.
The viscount of Chu, wishing to lay
siege to the capital of Song, made Zi Wan exercise and inspect the troops for
the expedition in Kuei, and at the end of a whole morning, he had not punished
a single man. Zi Yu in the next place was employed to exercise the troops in
Wei, and at the day's end he had scourged seven men and bored through the ears
of three. The elders of the state all congratulated Zi Wan [on his
recommendation of Zi Yu], when he detained them to drink with him.
Wei Jia was then still a boy, and
came late, offering no congratulations. Zi Wan asked the reason for his
conduct, and he replied, "I do not know on what I should congratulate you.
You have resigned the government to Zi Yu, thinking, no doubt, that his
appointment would quiet the state. But with quietness in the state and defeat abroad,
what will be gained? The defeat of Zi Yu will be owing to your recommendation
of him, and what cause for congratulation is there in a recommendation which
will bring defeat to the state? Zi Yu is a violent man, and he pays no regard
to the observances of propriety [LI], so that he is unfit to rule the people.
If he be entrusted with the command of more than 300 chariots, he will not
enter the capital again. If I congratulate you after he has returned from being
entrusted with a larged command, my congratulations will not be too late."
In winter, the viscount of Chu and
several other princes laid siege to the capital of Song, the duke of which sent
Gong Sun Gu to Jin to report the strait in which he was. Xian Zhen said to the
marquis, "Now you may recompense the favors received from Song and relieve
its distress. The opportunity is now presented to acquire proper majesty and
make sure of the leadership of the States." Hu Yan said, "Chu has
just secured the adherence of Cao, and recently contracted a marriage with Wei.
If we invade Cao and Wei, Chu will be sure to go to their help, and so Song and
Qi will be delivered from it."
At this, the marquis ordered a
hunting in Bei Lu and formed a third army. He then consulted about a
commander-in-chief. Chao Shuai said, "Xi Hu is the man. I have heard him
speak. He explains all about music and proprieties and is versed in the Books
of Poetry and History. Those books are the repository of righteousness, and in
music and proprieties we have the patterns of virtue, while virtue and
righteousness are roots of all advantage. In the Books of Xia it is said, 'They
were appointed by their speech; they were tested by their works; they received
chariots and robes according to their services.' Let your lordship make trial
of him." At this the marquis appointed Xi Hu to command the second army,
that of the center, with Xi Zhen as his assistant. Hu Yan was made commander of
the first army, but he declined in favor of Hu Mao and acted as his assistant.
The marquis ordered Zhao Shuai to take the third command, but he declined in
favor of Luan Zhi and Xian Zhen, at which Luan Zhi was made commander of the
third army, with Xian Zhen as his assistant. Xun Lin Fu acted as charioteer for
the marquis, and Wei Chou was the spearman on the right.
When the marquis of Jin got
possession of the state, he taught the people for two years and then wished to
employ them in war. Zi Fan said, "While the people do not know
righteousness, they will not live quietly." At this, beyond the state, the
marquis settled the troubles of king Xiang, and in it he studied the people's
advantage till their lives were happy and cherished by them. He then wished to
employ them, but Zi Fan again said, "The people do not yet know good faith
and do not understand how they are to be employed." At this the marquis
attacked Yuan and showed them what good faith was, so that in their bargains
they sought no advantage and intelligently fulfilled all their words. "May
they now be employed?" asked the marquis, but Zi Fan once more replied,
"While they do not know the observances of propriety, their respectfulness
is not brought out." At this the marquis made great huntings and showed
them the gradations of different ranks, making special officers of degrees to
adjust all the services. When the people could receive their orders without
making any mistake, then he employed them, drove out the guards of Ke and
relieved the siege of Song. The securing of his leadership of the states by one
battle was owing to this intelligent training. <div
align="right">

Duke Xi, year 30, 629 BC (Legge p. 215, col. 15, & p. 217)Flattery is no excuse for not observing proper form [LI] at a banquet[The Chun Qiu has: "In winter, the king [by] Heaven's [grace] sent his
chief minister, the duke of Zhou, to Lu on a mission of friendly inquiries.]
At the entertainment for him, there were the [pickled] roots
of the sweet flag cut small, rice, millet, and the salt in the form of a tiger,
[all set forth]. Yue declined [such an entertainment], saying, "The ruler
of a state, whose civil talents make him illustrious and whose military prowess
makes him an object of dread, is feasted with such a complete array of
provisions, to emblem his virtues. The five savors are introduced and viands of
the finest grains, with the salt in the shape of a tiger, to illustrate his
services. But I am not worthy of such a feast."

Duke Wen, 2nd year—624 B.C.(Legge, p. 232, col. 4 &
p. 234, col. 1)The ancestral tablet of one duke was advanced to be above that of his
brother and predecessor.
This was contrary to the order of
sacrifice. On this, Xia Fu Fu Ji, who was then director of the ancestral
temple, wished to honor duke Xi and told what he had seen, saying, "I saw
the new spirit great and the old spirit small. To put the great one first and
the small one after it is the natural order. And to advance him who was sage
and worthy is the act of intelligence. What is according to natural order and
intelligence has a principle of reason in it."
But the superior man must consider
the act to have been contrary to the propriety of the ceremony. In ceremonies,
everything must be in the proper natural order, and sacrifice is the great
business of the state. How can it be called propriety to go contrary to the
order of it? The son may have been reverend and sage, but he does not take
precedence to the father, who has enjoyed the sacrifice for a long time. Thus
it was that Yu did not take precedence of Guan nor Tang of Xie, nor Wen and Wu
of Bu Zhu. The emperor Yi was the ancestor of the house of Song, and king Li
the ancestor of that of Zheng. Notwithstanding their bad character, they keep
in the temples their superior position. Thus also, in the Praise Songs of Lu
[Mao #300], we have,
In spring
and in autumn, without delay,
He presents
his offerings without error,
To the great and
sovereign God,
And to his
great ancestor Hou Ji.
The superior man thus in effect says, "Here is the order of ceremony.
Though How Ji be near in relationship, yet God takes the precedence in the
sacrifice." Another ode [Mao #39] says,
I will ask
for my aunts,
And then for
my sister.
The superior may thus says, "here is the order of ceremony. Though sister
be the nearest in relationship, yet the aunts take the precedence of her."
Zhong Ni [Confucius] said, "There were three things which showed Zang Wen
Zhong's want of virtue and three which showed his want of knowledge. His
keeping Zhan Qin in a low position; his removing the six gates; and his making
his concubines weave rush mats for sale—these showed his want of virtue.
His making vain structures [cf. Analects 5.17]; his allowing a sacrifice
contrary to the proper order; and his sacrificing to the Yuan Ju—these
showed his want of knowledge."

Duke
Wen, year 13—613 B.C. (Legge p. 263, col. 10 & p. 264, col. 2)Negotiation accomplished entirely by means of Odes
In winter, the duke went to Jin,
paying a court visit, and renewing his covenant with the marquis. The marquis
of Wei had a meeting with the duke at Ta and begged his mediation to make peace
with Jin. As he was returning, the earl of Zheng met him at Fei and begged from
him a similar service. The duke accomplished the thing for them both. The earl
of Zheng and he feasted at Fei, when Zi Jia (an officer of Zheng) sang the Hong
Yan (Shi, II. iii. ode VII = Mao 181). Ji Wen (an officer of Lu) said, "My
ruler has his share in that," and he sang the Si Yue (Shi, II. v. ode X =
Mao 204). Zi Jia then sang the fourth stanza of the Zai Chi (Shi, I. iv. ode X
= Mao 54), and Ji Wen responded with the fourth of the Cai Wei (Shi, II. i. ode
VII = Mao 167). The earl of Zheng then bowed his thanks to the duke, and the
duke returned the bow. [The sentence, "The duke accomplished…"
anticipates the outcome of the interchange at the banquet. The negotiating
between the two rulers is performed by subalterns entirely through citations
from the Odes. Everyone understands what is being asked and what is being
granted. The rulers need merely to bow to one another.]

Duke
Wen, year 17, 609 BC,(Legge p. 277, col. 9, & p. 278)Virtuous kindness brings gratitude; harshness brings desperation.[The marquis of Jin suspects the smaller state of Zheng of withdrawing from
submission to Jin and attaching itself to Chu. A minister of Zheng protests
that this is not the case, citing in evidence Zheng's unbroken loyalty to Jin.
The minister continues:]
There is a saying of the ancients: "Fearing for its
head and fearing for its tail, there is little of the body left [not to fear
for]." And there is another: "The deer driven to its death does not
choose the [best] place to take shelter in." When a small state serves a
large one, if dealt with kindly [DE], it shows the gratitude of a man; if not
dealt with kindly, it acts like the stag. That runs into danger in its violent
hurry, for how in its urgency should it be able to choose where to run? [The
state], driven by the commands to it without limit, in the same way only knows
that there is ruin before it. We will raise all our poor levies and await you
at You, just as you, the director
of affairs, may command us. Our [former] duke Wen in his second year, in the
sixth month, on ren-shen, acknowledged the court of Qi, but in his fourth year,
in the second month, on ren-xu, because Qi made an incursion into Cai, he [felt
obliged to] obtain terms of peace from Chu. Situated between great states, is
it our fault that we must follow their violent orders? If your great state do
not consider these things, we will not seek to evade the command you shall lay
upon us [i.e., we will meet you in arms, if necessary].<div align="right">INDEX

Duke
Wen, year 18, 608 BC(Legge p. 279, col. 16, & p. 282)
Never harbor one who is disobedient and unfilial. Examples of the ancients.
Duke Zhi of Jiu had two sons, Bu [who should have succeeded him] and Chi Tuo
[lit. Chi the younger brother], but through his love for Chi Tuo, he degraded
Bu. He also did many things against all propriety in the state, and Bu, by the
help of the people, proceeded to murder him. He then gathered all his valuable
treasures together and came flying with them to Lu and presented them to Duke
Xuan. The duke gave orders to assign him a city, saying, "It must be given
to him today, but Chi Wen made the minister of crime send him beyond the
borders, saying, "He must get there today." The duke asked the reason
of this conduct, and Chi Wen sent Ke, the grand historiographer, with the
following reply:
"A deceased great officer of our state, Cang Wen Zhong,
taught Hang Fu rules to guide him in serving his ruler, and Hang Fu gives them
the widest application, not daring to let them slip from his mind. Wen Zhong's
words were, 'When you see a man who observes the rules of propriety in his
conduct toward his ruler, behave to him as a dutiful son should do in
nourishing his parents. When you see a man who transgresses those rules towards
his ruler, take him off as an eagle or a hawk pursues a small bird.' The
founder of our house, the duke of Zhou, in the rules which he framed for Zhou,
said,
By means of the model of conduct, you can
see a man's virtue.
His virtue is evidenced in his management
of affairs.
From that management his merit can be
measured.
His services result in the support of the
people.
In the Admonitory Instruction which he
made, [the duke of Zhou] said,
He who overthrows [the laws of conduct]
is a villain,
and he who conceals him is his harborer.
He who filches money is a thief;
he who steals the treasures of a state is
a traitor.
He who harbors the villain and he who
uses
the
treasurers of the traitor
is guilty of the greatest crime.
He must suffer the regular penalty, without
forgiveness.
Such a case is not omitted in [the Book
of] the Nine Punishments.'
"When Wang Fu viewed the whole action of Bu of Jiu, he
saw nothing in him fit to be a model of conduct. Filial reverence and loyal
faith are virtues of good conduct; theft and villainy, and harboring [the
thief] and [accepting the gifts of] the traitor are vices of evil conduct. Now
what was the pattern of filial reverence given by Bu of Jiu? The murder of his
father and ruler. And his pattern of loyal faith was his stealing the treasures
and jewels of the state. The man is a robber and a villain; the things he
brought with him are the signs of his treachery. To protect him and accept his
gifts would be to be a principal in harboring him. If we, with [the duke of
Zhou's] lessons, should take such a blind course, the people would have no
pattern, and, unable to take the measurement of good themselves, they would be
in the midst of vices of bad conduct [XIONG DE].
"The ancient [emperor] Gao Yang had eight descendants
of ability [and virtue] . . . [names omitted]. They were correct and sagely, of
wide comprehension and deep, intelligent and consistent, generously good and
sincere: all under heaven called them the Eight Harmonies.
"[The emperor] Gao Xin had eight descendants of ability
[and virtue] . . . [names omitted]. They were loyal and reverential, respectful
and admirable, all-considering and benevolent, kind and harmonious: all under
heaven called them the Eight Worthies.
"Of these sixteen men, [after] ages have acknowledged
the excellence and not let their names fall to the ground. But in the time of
Yao, he was not able to raise them to office. When Shun, however, became Yao's
minister, he raised the Eight Harmonies to office and employed them to
superintend the department of the minister of the land. All matters connected
with it were thus regulated, and everything was arranged in the proper season:
the earth was reduced to order, and the influences of heaven
operated with effect. He also raised the Eight Worthies to office and employed
them to disseminate through the four quarters a knowledge of the duties
belonging to the five relations of society. Fathers became just and mothers
gentle; elder brothers kindly, and younger ones respectful; and sons became
filial. In the empire there was order, and beyond it submission.
"The ancient emperor Hong had a descendant devoid of
ability [and virtue]. He hid righteousness from himself and was a villain at
heart; he delighted in the practice of the worst vices; he was shameless and
vile, obstinate, stupid, and unfriendly, cultivating only the intimacy of such
as himself. All the people under heaven called him Chaos.
"The emperor Shao Hao had a descendant devoid of
ability [and virtue]. He sought to overthrow faith and disowned loyalty. He
delighted in evil speeches and tried to make them attractive; he was a home
with slanderers and employed the perverse; he readily received calumnies and
sought out men's iniquities to stigmatize what was sincere. All the people
under heaven called him Monster.
"[The emperor] Jun Xiu had a descendant devoid of
ability [and virtue]. He would receive no instruction; he would acknowledge no
good words. When told, he was obstinate; when left alone, he was stupid. He was
an arrogant hater of intelligent virtue, seeking to confound the heavenly rules
of society. All the people under heaven called him Block.
"Of these three men [after] ages acknowledged the
wickedness and added to their evil names. But in the time of Yao, he was not
able to put them away.
"[The officer] Jin Yun had a descendant who was devoid
of ability and virtue. He was greedy of eating and drinking, craving for money
and property. Ever gratifying his lusts and making a grand display, he was insatiable,
rapacious in his exactions, and accumulating stores of wealth. He had no idea
of calculating where he should stop and made no exceptions in favor of the
orphan and the widow, felt no compassion for the poor and exhausted. All the
people under heaven likened him to the three other wicked ones and called him
Glutton.
"When Shun became Yao's minister, he received the
nobles from the four quarters of the empire and banished these four wicked
ones, Chaos, Monster, Block, and Glutton, casting them out into the four
distant regions to meet the spite of the sprites and evil things. The
consequence of this was that, when Yao died, all under heaven, as if they had
been one man, with common consent bore Shun to be emperor, because he had
raised to office those sixteen helpers and had put away the four wicked ones.
Therefore the Book of Yu, in enumerating the services of Shun, says, 'He
carefully set forth the beauty of the five cardinal duties, and they came to be
universally observed [cf. Shu, Canon of Shun, 2; Legge, p. 31]. None were
disobedient to his instructions; 'being appointed to be General Regulator, the
affairs of each department were arranged according to their proper seasons'
[Canon of Shun]. There was no neglect of any affair; 'having to receive the
princes from the four quarters of the empire, there all were docilely
submissive.' There were none wicked among them. Shun's services
were shown in the case of those twenty men, and he became emperor, and now,
although Hang Fu has not obtained one good man, he has put away one bad one. He
has a twentieth part of the merit of Shun, and may he not perhaps escape the
charge of having been disobedient?"[Legge notes that this long vindication of his conduct by Che Sun Hang Fu is
rich in "references to men and things in what we may call the praehistoric
period." These references reveal what traditions were current, but
"we cannot accept them as possessed of historical authority, more
especially as there is an anti-confucian spirit in what is said of Yao."] <div align="right">INDEX

Duke
Xuan, 3rd year—605 BC(Legge, p. 292, col. 3 & p. 293, par. 4)It is not the time to inquire about the nine tripods
The viscount of Chu invaded the Rong
of Lu Huan, and then went on as far as the Luo, where he reviewed his troops on
the borders of Zhou. King Ding sent Wang Sun Man to him with congratulations
and presents, when the viscount asked about the size and weight of the tripods.
Man replied, "[The strength of the kingdom] depends on virtue [DE] and not
on the tripods. Anciently, when Xia was distinguished for its virtue, the
distant regions sent pictures of the [remarkable] objects in them. The nine
pastors sent in the metal of their provinces, and the tripods were cast, with
representations on them of those objects. All the objects were represented, and
[instructions were given] of the preparations to be made in reference to them,
so that the people might know the sprites and evil things. Thus the people,
when they went among the rivers, marshes, hills, and forests, did not meet with
the injurious things, and the hill-sprites, monstrous things, and
water-sprites, did not meet with them [to do them injury]. Hereby a harmony was
secured between the high and the low, and all enjoyed the blessing of Heaven.
When the virtue of Jie was all-obscured, the tripods were transferred to Shang,
for 600 years. Zhouw of Shang proved cruel and oppressive, and they were
transferred to Zhou. When the virtue is commendable and brilliant, the tripods,
though they were small, would be heavy; when it gives place to its reverse, to
darkness and disorder, though they were large, they would be light. Heaven
blesses intelligent virtue; on that its favor rests. King Cheng fixed the
tripods in Jia Ru, and divined that the dynasty should extend through 30
reigns, over 700 years. Though the virtue of Zhou is decayed, the decree of
Heaven [TIAN MING] is not yet changed. The weight of the tripods may not yet be
inquired about." <div align="right">

Duke
Xuan, 12th Year—596 B.C. (Legge, p. 312, col. 11 & p. 317, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.[The leaders of the army of Jin are debating whether to cross the He and
engage Chu. Part of the force, under the command of Zhizi has crossed.]
Zhuangzi of Zhi said, "This
army is in great peril. The case is that indicated in the change of the diagram
Shi into Lin. [On Shi] it is said, ‘A host must be led forth according to the
rules of service. If these be not good, there will be evil.’ When the
commanders all observe their proper harmony, the rules are good; if they oppose
one another, they are not. [The change of the lower trigram of Shi into that of
Lin indicates] the separation of the host producing weakness; it is the
stopping up of a stream so as to form a marsh. The rules of service are turned
into each one’s taking his own way. Hence the words: ‘The rules become not
good.’ They are, as it were, dried up. The full stream is dried up; it is
stopped and cannot have its course. Consequently evil must ensue. Lin
[moreover] is the name for what does not proceed. When a commander does not
follow the orders of his leader, what greater want of on-going could there be?
And it is the case we now have. If we do meet the enemy, we are sure to be
defeated, and the calamity will be owning to Zhizi. Though he should now
escape, yet, on his return to Jin, great evil will await him."

Duke
Zheng, 2nd year—588 BC(Legge, p. 339, col. 7 & p. 344, col. 2)Insignia and music; their importance for LI and YI
It was Zhong Shu Yu Xi, commandant
of Xin Zhu, who thus came to the relief of Sun Huan Zi and secured his escape.
In consequence, the people of Wei would have rewarded Yu Xi with a city, but he
refused it and asked that he might be allowed to have his suspended instruments
of music disposed incompletely [like those of the prince of a state] and to
appear at court with the saddle girth and bridle trappings of a prince—which
was granted to him.
When Zhong Ni [Confucius] heard of
this, he said, "Alas! It would have been better to give him many cities.
It is only peculiar articles of use and names which cannot be granted to other
[than those to whom they belong]. To them a ruler has particularly to attend.
It is by [the right use of] names that he secures the confidence [of the
people]. It is by that confidence that he preserves the articles [distinctive
of ranks]. It is in those articles that the ceremonial distinctions of rank are
hid. Those ceremonial distinctions are essential to the practice of
righteousness [YI]. It is righteousness which contributes to the advantage [of
the state], and it is that advantage which secures the quiet of the people.
Attention to these things is the condition of [good] government. If they be
conceded where they ought not to be conceded, it is giving away the government
to the recipients. When the government thus perishes, the state will follow it.
It is not possible to prevent that from happening." [cf. Analects 13.3] <div
align="right">

Duke
Zheng, year 9—581 B.C. (Legge p. 369, col. 11 & p. 371, col. 1)the virtuous and loyal musician from Chu
The marquis of Jin was surveying the
arsenal, when he observed Zhong Yi and asked about him, saying, "Who is
that bound there and wearing a southern cap?" The officer in charge said,
"It is the Chu prisoner, whom the people of Zheng delivered to us."
The marquis made them loose his bonds, called him, and spoke comfortingly to
him.
The man bowed twice before him, with
his head to the ground, and the marquis asked him about his family. "We
are musicians," he said. "Can you play?" "Music," he
said, "was the profession of my father. Dared I learn any other?" The
marquis made a lute be given to him, which he began to touch to an air of the
south. He was then asked about the character of the king of Chu, but he
answered that that was beyond the knowledge of a small man like himself. The
marquis urged him, so he replied, "When he was prince, his tutor and his
guardian trained him, and in the morning he was to be seen with Ying Qi, and in
the evening with Ce. I do not know anything else about him."
The duke repeated this conversation
to Fan Wen Zi, who said, "That prisoner of Chu is a superior man. He told
you of the office of his father, showing that he is not ashamed of his origin.
He played an air of his country, showing that he has not forgotten his old
associations. He spoke of his king when he was prince, showing his own freedom
from mercenariness. He mentioned the two ministers by name, doing honor to your
lordship. His not being ashamed of his origin shows the man's virtue; his not
forgetting his old associations, his good faith; his freedom from
mercenariness, his loyalty; and his honoring your lordship, his intelligence.
With virtue to undertake the management of affairs, good faith to keep it, and
loyalty to complete it, he is sure to be competent for the successful conduct
of a great business. Why should not your lordship send him back to Chu, and
make him unite Jin and Chu in bonds of peace?"
The marquis followed this counsel, treated Zhong Yi with
great ceremony, and sent him back to Chu to ask that there might be peace
between it and Jin.

Duke
Zheng, year 13—577 B.C. (Legge, p. 379, col. 6 & p. 381, col. 2)proper conduct in the two great affairs of state: sacrifice and war
When the duke [of Lu] was going to the
capital, Xuan Bo, wishing to obtain gifts [from the king], begged to be sent on
beforehand. The king, however, received him [only] with the ceremonies due an
envoy. Meng Xian Zi came on in attendance [on the duke], and the king
considered him to be the duke's director for the visit and gave him large
presents. The duke and the other princes had an audience with the king, and
then followed duke Kang of Liu and duke Su of Zheng to join the marquis of Jin
in the invasion of Qin.
When the viscount of Zheng received
the flesh of the sacrifice at the altar of the land, his manner was not
respectful. The viscount of Liu said, "I have heard that men receive at
birth the exact and correct principles of Heaven and Earth, and these are what
is called their appointed [nature]. There are the rules of action, propriety,
righteousness, and demeanor, to establish this nature. Men of ability nourish
those rules so as to secure blessing, while those devoid of ability violate
them so as to bring on themselves calamity. Therefore superior men diligently
attend to the rules of propriety, and men in an inferior position do their
best. In regard to the rules of propriety, there is nothing like using the
greatest respectfulness. In doing one's best, there is nothing like being
earnestly sincere. That respectfulness consists in nourishing one's spirit
[SHEN]; that earnestness, in keeping one's duties in life. The great affairs of
a state are sacrifice and war. At sacrifices [in the ancestral temple], [the
officers] receive the roasted flesh; in war they receive that offered at the
altar of the land. These are the great ceremonies in worshipping the Spirits
[SHEN]. Now the viscount of Zheng by his lazy rudeness has cast from him his
proper nature. May we suppose that he will not return from this
expedition?"

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xiang, year 9--563 B.C.(Legge, p. 436, col. 1 &
p. 439, col. 1)Fire prevention preparations and Providence (TIAN DAO)
In the duke's 9th year, in spring,
there was a fire in Song. Yue Xi [Zi Han] was then minister of works, and made
in consequence [the following] regulations [for such an event]. He appointed
the officer Bo to take charge of the streets where the fire had not reached. He
was to remove small houses and plaster over large ones. He was to set forth
baskets and barrows for carrying earth, provide well-ropes and buckets, prepare
water jars, have things arranged according to their weight, dam the water up in
places where it was collected, have earth and mud stored up, go round the walls
and measure off the places where watch and ward should be kept and signalize
the line of the fire. He appointed Hua Chen to have the public workmen in
readiness, and to order the commandants outside the city to march their men
from the borders and various stations to the place of the fire. He appointed
Hua Yue to arrange that the officers of the right should be prepare for all
they might be called on to do and Xiang Shu to arrange similarly for the
officers of the left. He appointed Yue Chuan in the same way to prepare the
various instruments of punishment. He appointed Huang Yun to give orders to the
waster of the horse to bring out horses, and the chariot-master to bring out
chariots, and to be prepared with buff-coats and weapons, in readiness for
military guard. He appointed Xi Chu Wu to look after the records kept in the
different repositories. He ordered the superintendent and officers of the harem
to maintain a careful watch in the palace. The masters of the right and left
were to order the headmen of the four village districts reverently to offer
sacrifices. The great officer of religion was to sacrifice horses on the walls
and sacrifice to Pan Geng outside the western gate.
The marquis of Jin asked Shi Ruo
what was the reason of a saying which he had heard, that from the fires of Song
it could be known there was a providence [TIAN DAO]. "The ancient director
of fire," replied Ruo, "was sacrificed to either when the heart or
the beak of the Bird culminated at sunset, to regulate the kindling or the
extinguishing of the people's fires. Hence the beak is the star Chun-he, and
the heart is Da-he. Now the director of fire under Tao Tang [Yao] was Bo E, who
dwelt in Shang Qiu and sacrificed to Da-he, by fire regulating the seasons.
Xiang Tu came after him, and hence Shang paid special regard to the star Da-he.
The people of Shang, in calculating their disasters and calamities, discovered
that they were sure to begin with fire, and hence came the saying about thereby
knowing there was a providence [TIAN DAO]."
"Can the thing be certainly
[known beforehand]?" asked the marquis, to which Ruo replied, "It
depends on the ruler's course. When the disorders of a state have not evident
indications, it cannot be known [beforehand] ."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xiang, 9th Year—563 B.C. (Legge, p. 437, col. 5 &
p. 439, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
Mu Jiang died in the eastern palace [where
she had been confined because of her intriguing].When she first went into it, she
consulted the milfoil and got the second line of the diagram Gen. The diviner
said, "This is what remains when Gen becomes Sui. Sui is the symbol of
getting out. Your ladyship will soon get out of this." She replied,
"No. Of this diagram it is said in the Zhou Yi, ‘Sui indicates being
great, penetrating, beneficial, firmly correct, without blame.’ Now that
greatness is the lofty distinction of the person; that penetration is the
assemblage of excellences; that beneficialness is the harmony of all
righteousness; that firm correctness is the stem of all affairs. The person who
is entirely virtuous is sufficient to take the presidency of others; admirable
virtue is sufficient to secure an agreement with all propriety. Beneficialness
to things is sufficient to effect a harmony of all righteousness. Firm
correctness is sufficient to manage all affairs. But these things must not be
in semblance merely. It is only thus that Sui could bring the assurance of
blamelessness. Now I, a woman, and associated with disorder, am here in the
place of inferior rank. Chargeable moreover with a want of virtue, greatness
cannot be predicated of me. Not having contributed to the quiet of the state, penetration
cannot be predicated of me. Having brought harm to myself by my doings,
beneficialness cannot be predicated of me. Having left my proper place for a
bad intrigue, firm correctness cannot be predicated of me. To one who has those
four virtues the diagram Sui belongs. What have I to do with it, to whom none
of them belongs? Having chosen evil, how can I be without blame? I shall die
here. I shall never get out of this."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xiang 16th Year—558 BC (Legge, p. 462, col. 5 &
p. 466, col. 2)When may the ruler be expelled?
The music-master Kuang being by the
side of the marquis of Jin, the marquis said to him, "Have not the people
of Wei done very wrong in expelling their ruler?"
Kuang replied, "Perhaps the
ruler had done very wrong. A good ruler will reward the virtuous and punish the
vicious; he will nourish his people as his children, overshadowing them as
heaven, and supporting them as the earth. Then the people will maintain their
ruler, love him as a parent, look up to him as the sun and moon, revere him as
they do spiritual Beings, and stand in awe of him as of thunder. Could such a
ruler be expelled? Now, the ruler is the host of the spirits and the hope of
the people. If he makes the life of the people to be straightened and the
spirits to want their sacrifices, then the hope of the people is cut off, and
the altars are without a host. Of what use is he, and what should they do but
send him away? Heaven, in giving birth to the people, appointed for them rulers
to act as their superintendents and pastors, so that they should not lose their
proper nature. For the rulers there are assigned their assistants to act as
tutors and guardians to them, so that they should not go beyond their proper
limits. Therefore the Son of Heaven has his dukes; princes of States have their
high ministers; ministers have [the Heads of] their collateral families; great
officers have the members of the secondary branches of their families; and the common
people, mechanics, merchants, police runners, shepherds, and grooms, all have
their relatives and acquaintances to aid and assist them. These stimulate and
honor those [to whom they stand in such a relation], when they are good, and
correct them when they do wrong. They rescue them in calamity and try to put
away their errors. From the king downwards, everyone has his father, elder
brothers, sons and younger brothers to supply [the defects] and watch over [the
character of] his government. The historiographers make their records; the
blind make their poems; the musicians recite their satires and remonstrances;
the great officers admonish and instruct, and inferior officers report to these
what they hear; the common people utter their complaints; the merchants
[display their wares] in the market places; the hundred artificers exhibit
their skilful contrivances. Hence in one of the Books of Xia [Shu III. iv. 3] it is said, 'The
herald with his wooden-tongued bell goes along the roads [proclaiming],
"Ye officers, able to instruct, be prepared with your admonitions. Ye
workmen engaged in mechanical affairs, remonstrate on the subject of your
business." In the first month, at the beginning of spring, this was done.'
It was done, lest remonstrances should not be regularly presented. Heaven's
love for the people is very great. Would it allow the one man to take his will
and way over them, so indulging his excessive desires and discarding the
[kindly] nature of Heaven and Earth? Such a thing could not be."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xiang, 25th Year—547 B.C. (Legge, p. 510, col. 3 &
p. 514, col. 1)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
The wife of the commandant of Tang
of Qi was an elder sister of Dong Guo Yan, who was a minister of Cui Wuzi. When
the commandant died, Yan drove Wuzi [to his house] to offer his condolences.
Wuzi then saw Tang Jiang [the wife of the commandant] and, admiring her beauty,
wished Yan to give her to him for his wife. Yan said, "Husband and wife
should be of different surnames. You are descended from Duke Ding and I from
Duke Huan. The thing cannot be."
Wuzi consulted the milfoil about it
and got the diagram Kun, which then became the diagram Da Guo, which the
diviners all said was fortunate. He showed it to Chen Wenzi, but he said,
"The [symbol for] a man [in Kun] is displaced by that for wind [in Da
Guo]. Wind overthrows things. The woman ought not to be married. And moreover,
[upon Kun] it is said, ‘Distressed by rocks; holding to brambles; he enters his
palace and does not see his wife. It is evil.’ ‘Distressed by rocks’: in vain
does one attempt to go forward. ‘Holding by brambles’: that in which trust is
placed wounds. ‘He enters his palace and does not see hiw wife; it is evil’:
there is nowhere to turn to." Cuizi replied, "She is a widow. What
does all this matter? Her former husband bore the brunt of it." So he
married her.
Afterwards Duke Zhuang had an
intrigue with her and constantly went to Cui’s house. [On one occasion] he took
Cui’s hat and gave it to another person, and when his attendants said that he
should not do so, he remarked, "Although he be not Cuizi, should he
therefore be without a hat?"
Cuizi [was enraged] by these things,
and because the duke took occasion [of its troubles] to invade Jin, thinking
that Jin would be sure to retaliate, he wished to murder the duke in order to
please that state. He did not, however, find an opportunity. . .

[Talented
men from Chu are defecting to Jin. Gui Sheng explains why.] I have heard this,
that the skillful administration of a state is seen in rewarding without error
and punishing without excess. If rewards be conferred beyond what is proper,
there is a danger of some reaching bad men, and if punishments be inflicted in
excess, there is a danger of some reaching good men. If unfortunately mistakes
cannot be avoided, it is better to err in the matter of rewards than of
punishments. It is better that a bad man get an advantage than that a good man
be lost. If there be not good men, the state will follow them to ruin. The
words of the ode are descriptive of the consequences of there being no good
men:

Men
there are not,

And
the kingdom is sure to go to ruin. [Mao 264]

And so in one of the Books of Xia it is said, ‘Rather than put to
death an innocent person, you run the risk of irregularity,’ indicating the
fear that should be entertained of losing the good. In the sacrificial odes of
Xia it is said:

He
erred not in rewarding or punishing;

He
dared not to be idle.

So
was his appointment established over the states,

And
his happiness was made grandly secure. [Mao 305]

It
was thus that Tang obtained the blessing of Heaven. The ancient rulers of the
people encouraged themselves in rewarding and stood in awe of punishing, and
their compassion for the people was untiring. They rewarded in spring and summer;
they punished in autumn and winter. Thus it was that when they were going to
reward, they increased the number of their dishes, and in doing so they gave
abundantly to their ministers. They showed us by this how they rejoiced in
rewarding. But when they were going to punish, they would not take a full meal
and at the same time silenced their music. They showed by this how they shrank
from punishing. Early they rose and went to sleep late. Morning and evening
they were occupied with the government. They showed us how anxious they were
for the welfare of the people. These three things are the great points of
propriety [LI] in a government, and where there is such propriety, there will
be no such thing as overthrow.

<div align="right">

INDEX</div>Duke Xiang, year 30—542 B.C. (Legge, p. 553, col. 2 &
p. 556, col. 2)Wrongly placed modesty is not proper conduct [YI].
Some one called out in the grand
temple of Sung. "Ah! Ah! come out, come out." A bird also sang at the
altar of Bo, as if it were saying, "Ah! Ah !" On the day jia-wu there
occurred a great fire in Song, when duke Zheng's eldest daughter, who had been
married to the ruler of Song, died, through her waiting for the instructress of
the harem. The superior man may say that Gong Ji acted like a young lady and
not like a woman of years. A girl should wait for the instructress [in such a
case]; a wife might act as was right in the case [YI SHI].

<div
align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xiang, 30th Year—542 BC(Legge pp. 554 & 558)A mirror for governing well.
Zi Pi of Zheng wished to resign the
government of that state to Zi Chan, who declined it, saying, "The state
is small and is near to [a great one]; the clans are great, and many [members
of them] are favorites [with our ruler]. The government cannot be efficiently
conducted." Zi Pi replied, "I will lead them all to listen [to your
orders], and who will dare to come into collision with you? With your ability
presiding over its administration, the state will not be small. Though it be
small, you can with it serve the great state, and the state will enjoy
ease." At this, Zi Chang undertook the government.
Wishing to employ the services of Bo
Shi, he conferred on him a grant of towns. Zi Tai Shu said, "The state is
the state of us all. Why do you make such a grant to him alone?" Zi Chan
replied, "It is hard for a man not to desire such things, and when a man
gets what he desires, he is excited to attend to his business and labors to
compass its success. I cannot compass that; it must be done by him. And why
should you grudge the towns? Where will they go?" "But what will the
neighboring states think?" urged Zi Tai Shu. "When we do not oppose
one another," was the reply, "but act in harmony, what will they have
to blame? It is said in one of our own books, 'In order to give rest and
settlement to the state, let the great families have precedence.' Let me now
for the present content them and wait for that result."
After this Bo Shi became afraid and
returned the towns, but in the end, Zi Chan gave them to him. And now that Bo
You was dead, he sent the grand historiographer to Bo Shi with the commission
of a minister. It was declined, and the historiographer withdrew, when Bo Shi
requested that the offer might be repeated. On its being so, he again declined
it, and this he did three times, when at last he accepted the tablet and went
to the court to give thanks for it. All this made Zi Chan dislike the man, but
he made him take the position next to himself.
Zi Chan made the central cities and
border lands of the state be exactly defined and enjoined on the high and
inferior officers to wear [only] their distinctive robes. The fields were all
marked out by their banks and ditches. The houses and zing [a piece of land divided, like
a tic-tac-toe game, into nine sections, like the character for
"well." The produce of the center section accrued to the state.] were
divided into fives, responsible for one another. The great officers, who were
faithful and temperate, were advanced to higher dignities, while the
extravagant were punished and taken off.
Feng Quan, in prospect of a
sacrifice, asked leave to go hunting, but Zi Chan refused it, saying, "It
is only the ruler who uses venison. The officers use in sacrifice only the
domestic animals." Zi Zhang was angry, withdrew, and got his servants
ready, intending to attack Zi Chan, who thought of fleeing to Jin. Zi Pi,
however, stopped him and drove out Feng Quan, who fled to Jin. Zi Chan begged
his lands and villages from the duke, got Quan recalled in three years, and
then restored them all to him, with the income which had accrued from them.
When the government had been in Zi
Chan's hands one year, all men sang of him:

Duke
Xiang, 31st Year—541 BCWise use of subordinates' talents.(Legge pp. 561 & 565)
In the twelfth month, Bi Gong Wan Zi
attended Duke Xiang of Wei on a visit to Chu, undertaken in compliance with the
covenant of Song. As they passed by [the capital of] Ching, Yin Tuan went out
to comfort them under the toils of the journey, using the ceremonies of a
complimentary visit but the speeches appropriate to such a comforting visit.
Wan Zi entered the city to pay a complimentary visit [in return]. Zi Yu was the
internuncius. Ping Qian Zi and Zi Tai Shu met the guest. When the business was
over and Wan Zi had gone out [again], he said to the marquis of Wei,
"Ching observes the proprieties. This will be a blessing to it for several
generations and save it, I apprehend, from any inflictions from the great
states. The ode says:

Who
can hold anything hot?

Must
he not dip it [first] in water? [cf Legge, p. 522; Mao #257]

The rules of propriety are to government what that dipping is to the
consequences of the heat. With the dipping to take away the heat, there is no
distress."
Zi Chan, in the administration of
his government, selected the able and employed them. Ping Qian Zi was able to
give a decision in the greatest matters. Zi Tai Shu was handsome and
accomplished. Gong Sun Hui told what was doing in the states round about and
could distinguish all about their great officers, their clans, surnames, order,
positions, their rank whether noble or mean, their ability or the reverse, and
he was also skilful in composing speeches. Pi Chen was a shilful counsellor,
shilful when he concocted his plans in the open country but not so when he did
so in the city.
When the state was going to have any
business with other states, Zi Chan asked Zi Yu what was doing round about and
caused him to compose a long speech. He then took Pi Chen in his carriage into
the open country and made him consider whether the speech would suit the
occasion or not. Next he told Ping Qian Zi and made him give a decision in the
case. When all this was done, he put the matter into the hands of Zi Tai Shu to
carry it into effect and reply to the visitors [from the other states]. In this
was it was seldom that any affair went wrong. This was what Bei Gong Wan Zi
meant in saying that Ching observed the proprieties. <div
align="right">

INDEX</div>Listening to the people.(Legge pp. 561 & 565-6)
A man of Qing rambled into a village
school and started discoursing about the conduct of the government. [In
consequence] Ran Ming proposed to Zi Chan to destroy [all] village schools. But
the minister said, "Why do so? If people retire morning and evening and
pass their judgment on the conduct of the government, as being good or bad, I
will do what they approve of, and I will alter what they condemn. They are my
teachers. On what ground should we destroy [those schools]? I have heard that
by loyal conduct and goodness enmity is dimished, but I have not heard that it
can be prevented by acts of violence. It may indeed be hastily stayed for a
while, but it continues like a stream that has been dammed up. If you make a
great opening in the dam, there will be great injury done, beyond our power to
relieve. The best plan is to lead the water off by a small opening [In this
case] our best plan is to hear what is said and use it as a medicine."
Ran Ming said, "From this time
forth I know that you are indeed equal to the administration of affairs. I
acknowledge my want of ability. If you indeed do this, all Qing will be
benefitted by it, and not we two or three ministers only."
When Zhong Ni [Confucius] heard of
these words, he said, "Looking at the matter from this, when men say that
Zi Chan was not benevolent, I do not believe it."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Xiang, year 31 — 541 B.C.(Legge p. 562, col. 8 &
p. 566, col. 2)The Odes cited to point out a chief minister’s lack of dignity (wei yi).
When the marquis of Wei was in Chu,
Bei Gong Wan Zi, perceiving the carriage and display of the chief minister Wei,
said to the marquis, "The [pomp] of the chief minister is like that of the
ruler; he must have his mind set on some other object. But though he may obtain
his desire, he will not hold it to the end. The ode (She, III. iii. ode I. 1 =
Mao 255) says,

Let
him be reverently careful of his digni-fied manner,
And he will be the pattern of the people.

But
the chief minister has no dignified manner [such as becomes him], and the
people have no pattern in him. Let him, in whom the people find no pattern, be
placed above them, yet he cannot continue to the end." "Good!"
said the duke. "What do you mean by a dignified manner?" The reply
was, "Having majesty that inspires awe, is what we call dignity.
Presenting a pattern which induces imitation is what we call manner. When a
ruler has the dignified manner of a ruler, his ministers fear and love him,
imitate and resemble him, so that he holds [firm] possession of his state, and
his fame continues through long ages. When a minister has the dignified manner
of a minister, his inferiors fear and love him, so that he can keep [sure] his
office, preserve his clan, and rightly order his family. So it is with all
classes downwards, and it is by this that high and low are made firm in their
relations to one another. An ode of Wei (She, I. iii. ode I. 3 = Mao 26) says,

My
dignified manner is mixed with ease
And cannot be made the subject of remark.

This
shows that ruler and minister, high and low, father and son, elder and younger
brother, at home and abroad, in great things and small, all have a dignified
manner [which is proper to them]. An ode of Zhou (She, III. ii. ode III. 4 =
Mao 247) says,

Your
friends assisting at the service
Have done so in a dignified manner.

This
shows that it is the rule for friends, in their instruction of one another, to
exhibit a dignified manner. One of the books of Zhou says, ‘The great
states feared his strength, and the small states cherished his virtue,’ showing
the union of awe and love. An ode (She, III. i. ode VII. 7 = Mao 241) says,

Unconscious
of effort,
He accorded with the example of God.

This
shows the union of imitation and resemblance.
"Zhou [the last ruler of the shang dynasty] imprisoned king Wen for seven
years, and then all the princes of the kingdom repaired to the place of his
imprisonment, and on this Zhou became afraid, and restored him [to his state].
This may be called an instance of how [king Wen] was loved. When he invaded
Cong, on his second expedition, [the lord of that state] surrendered and
acknowledged his duty as a subject. All the wild tribes [also] led on one another
to submit to him. These may be pro-nounced instances of the awe which he
inspired. All under heaven praised his meritorious services with songs and
dances, which may be pro-nounced an instance of their taking him as a pattern.
To the present day, the actions of king Wen are acknowledged as laws, which may
be pronounced an instance of his power to make men resemble himself. The secret
was his dignified manner. Therefore when the superior man, occupying a high
position, inspires awe, and by his beneficence produces love, and his advancing
and retiring are according to rule, and all his intercourse with others affords
a pattern, and his countenance and steps excite the gaze [of admiration], and
the affairs he conducts serve as laws, and his virtuous actions lead to
imitation, and his voice and air diffuse joy, and his movements and doings are
elegant, and his words have distinctness and brilliance: —when thus he
brings himself near to those below him, he is said to have a dignified
man-ner."

Duke
Zhao, year 1—540 B.C. (Legge, 572, col. 18 & p. 580, col. 1)Illness comes, not from spirits, but from improper conduct—two
accounts.
The marquis of Jin being ill, the
earl of Zheng sent Gong Sun Qiao to Jin on a complimentary visit and to inquire
about the marquis' illness. Shu Xiang then asked Qiao, saying, "The
diviners say that our ruler's illness is inflicted on him by [the spiritsl Shi
Chen and Tai Tai, but the historiographers do not know who these are. I venture
to ask you."
Zi Chan said, "Anciently, [the
emperor] Gao Xin had two sons, of whom the elder was called E Bo, and the
younger Shi Chen. They dwelt in Kuang Lin but could not agree, and daily
carried their shields and spears against each other. The sovereign emperor
(Yao) did not approve of this, and removed E Bo to Shang Qiu, to preside over
the star Chen [Legge here and throughout has the star's name as
"Ta-ho" = Da He]. The ancestors of Shang followed him [in Shang Qiu],
and hence Chen is the star of Shang. [Yao also] removed Shi Chen to Da Xia, to
preside over the star Shen [? in Orion]. The descendants of Tang (Yao)
fol-lowed him, and in Da Xia served the dynasties of Xia and Shang. The prince
at the end of their line was Tang Shu Yu. When Yi Jiang, the wife of king Wu,
was pregnant with Tai Shu, she dreamt that God said to her, "I have named
your son Yu, and will give Tang to him, Tang which belongs to the star Shen,
where I will multiply his descendants." When the child was born, there
appeared on his hand the character Yu [by which he was named accordingly]. And
when king Zheng extinguished [the old House of] Tang, he invested Tai Shu with
the principality; and hence Shen is the star of Jin. From this we may perceive
that Shi Chen is the spirit of Shen.
"[Again], anciently, among the
descendants of the emperor Jin Tian was Mei, chief of the officers of the
waters, who had two sons, Yun Ge and Tai Tai. Tai Tai inherited his father's
office, cleared the channels of the Fen and Tao and embanked the great marsh,
so as to make the great plain habitable. The emperor commended his labors and
invested him with the principality of Fen Quan. [The states of] Chen, Si, Ru,
and Huang maintained sacrifices to him. But now Jin, when it took on itself the
sacrifices to the Fen, extinguished them. From this we may perceive that Tai
Tai is the spirit of the Fen.
"But these two spirits cannot
affect your ruler's person. The spirits of the hills and streams are sacrificed
to in times of flood, drought, and pestilence. The spirits of the sun, moon,
and stars are sacrificed to on the unseasonable occurrence of snow, hoarfrost,
wind, or rain. Your ruler's person must be suffering from something connected
with his movements out of the palace and in it, his meat and drink, his griefs
and pleasures. What can these spirits of the mountains and stars have to do
with it?
"I have heard that the superior
man [divides the day] into four periods: the morning, to hear the affairs of the
government; noon, to make full inquiries about them; the evening, to consider
well and complete the orders [he has resolved to issue]; and the night, for
rest. By this arrangement [of his time], he attempers and dissipates the
humors [of the body], so that they are not allowed to get shut up, stopped, and
congested, so as to injure and reduce it. Should that take place, his mind
loses its intelligence, and all his measures are pursued in a dark and confused
way. But has not [your ruler] been making these four different periods of his
time into one? This may have produced the illness.
"I have heard again that the
ladies of the harem should not be of the same surname as the master of it. If
they be, their offspring will not thrive. When their first admiration for each
other [as relatives] is exhausted, they occasion one another disease. On this
account the superior man hates such unions, and one of our books says, 'In
buying a concubine, if you do not know her surname, consult the tortoise shell
for it.' The ancients gave careful attention to the two points which I have
mentioned. That husband and wife should be of different surnames is one of the
greatest points of propriety; but now your ruler has in his harem four Ji's.
May it not be from this [that his illness has arisen]? If it have come from the
two things [I have mentioned], nothing can be done for it. If he had seldom to
do with the four Ji's, he might get along. If that be not the case, disease was
the neces-sary result."
Shu Xiang said, "Good. I had
not heard of this. But both the things are so." When he went out, the
internuncius Hui escorted him, and Shu Xiang asked him about the affairs of
Zheng, and especially about Zi Xi. "He will not remain long," was the
reply. "Unobservant of propriety, and fond of insulting others, trusting
in his riches and despising his superiors, he cannot continue long."
When the marquis heard of what Zi
Chan had said, he remarked that he was a superior man of vast information, and
gave him large gifts.

The
Zuo continues with a second narrative about the marquis' illness.
The marquis of Jin asked the help of
a physician from Qin, and the earl sent one He to see him, who said, "The
disease cannot be cured, according to the saying that when women are
approached, the chamber disease becomes like insanity. It is not caused by
spirits nor by food. It is that delusion which has destroyed the mind. Your
good minister will [also] die; it is not the will of Heaven to preserve
him." The marquis said, "May women [then] not be approached?"
The physician replied, "Intercourse with them must be regulated. The
ancient kings indicated by their music how all other things should be
regulated. Hence there are the five regular intervals. Either slow or quick,
from beginning to end, they blend in one another. Each note rests in the exact
intermediate place; and when the five are thus determined, no further exercise
on the instruments is permitted. Thus the superior man does not listen to music
where the hands work on with licentious notes, pleasing the ears but injurious
to the mind, where the rules of equable harmony are forgotten. So it is with
all things. When they come to this, they should stop; if they do not do so, it
produces disease. The superior man repairs to his lutes to illustrate his
observance of rules, and not to delight his mind [merely].
[In the same way] there are six heavenly influences which descend and produce
the five tastes, go forth in the five colors, and are verified in the five
notes; but when they are in excess, they produce the six diseases. Those six
influences are denominated the yin, the yang, wind, rain, obscurity, and
brightness. In their separation, they form the four seasons; in their order,
they form the five [elementary] terms. When any of them is in excess, there
ensues calamity. An excess of the yin leads to diseases of cold; of the yang,
to diseases of heat; of wind, to diseases of the extremities; of rain, to
diseases of the belly; of obscurity, to diseases of delusion; of brightness, to
diseases of the mind. [The desire of] woman is to the yang and [she is used in
the] season of obscurity. If this be done to excess, disease is produced of
internal heat and utter delusion. Was it possible for your lordship, paying no
regard to moderation or to time, not to come to this ?"
When [the physician] went out, he
told what he had said to Zhao Meng, who asked who was intended by "the
good minister." "You," was the reply. "You have been chief
minister of Jin now for eight years. There has been no disorder in the state
itself, and the other states have not failed [in their duty to it]; that
epithet of 'good' may be applied to you. But I have heard that when the great
minister of a state enjoys the glory of his dignity and emoluments, and
sustains the burden of his great employments, if calamity and evil arise, and
he do not alter his ways [to meet them], then he must receive the blame and the
consequences. Here is your ruler, who has brought disease on himself by his
excesses, so that he will [soon] be unable to consult at all for [the good of]
the altars. What calamity could be greater? And yet you were unable to ward it
off. It was on this account that I said what I did."
Zhao Meng [further] asked what he
meant by "insanity," and [the physician] replied, "I mean that
which is produced by the delusion and disorder of excessive sensual indulgence.
Look at the character: it is formed by the characters for a vessel and for
insects. It is used also of grain which [moulders and] flies away. In the Zhou
Yi [the Yi Jing], [the symbols of] a woman deluding a young man, [of] wind
throwing down [the trees of] a mountain go by the same name [this refers to
hexagram 18: GU]. All these point to the same signification." Zhao Meng
pronounced him a good physician, gave him large gifts, and sent him back (to
Qin].

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, year 4—537 B.C. (Legge, p. 592, col. 1 &
p. 595, col. 1)A hailstorm associated with improper ceremony connected with ice storage
[from the Chun Qiu: In the duke's fourth year, in spring, in the king's first month,
there was a great fall of hail.]
Ji Wu Zi asked Shen Feng whether the
hail could be stopped, and was answered, "When a sage is in the highest
place, there is no hail, or if some should happen to fall, it does not amount
to a calamity. Anciently, they stored up the ice when the sun was in his
northern path, and they brought it out when he was in his western, and [the Gui
constellation] was seen [in the east] in the morning. At the storing of the
ice, they took it from the low valleys of the deep hills, where the cold was
most intense and as it were shut in, and when it was brought out, the
dignitaries and place-men of the court, in their entertainment of guests, for
their food, on occasions of death and of sacrifice, shared in the use of it. At
the storing of it, a black bull and black millet were presented to the Ruler of
cold, and when it was brought out, a bow of peach wood and arrows of thorn were
employed to put away calamitous influences. For the delivery and the storing of
it there were their seasons, and it was given to all who were entitled by their
station to eat flesh. Great officers and their declared wives used it in their
washings on occasions of death. It was deposited with a sacrifice to the [Ruler
of] cold; the depositories were opened with the offering of a lamb. The duke
first used it, and when the [star] He made its appearance, it was distributed.
From the commissioned [great] officers and their wives, down to officers
retired because of age or illness, all received the ice. The commissioners of
hills took it; the officers of districts sent it on; the cart-men received it;
and the inferior servants stored it. Now it is the [cold] wind which makes the
ice strong, and it was when the [warm] winds [prevailed], that it was brought
forth. The depositories were made close; the use of it was very extensive. In
consequence there was no heat out of course in the winter; no lurking cold in
the summer; no biting winds in the spring ; and no pitiless rains in the
autumn. When thunder came, it was not with a shaking crash. There were no
calamitous hoarfrosts and hail. Pestilences did not descend [on the land]. The
people died no premature deaths.
"But now the ice of the streams
and pools is what is stored up; [much also] is cast away and not used. The
winds go abroad as they ought not to do and carry death with them; so does the
thunder come with shaking crash. Who can put a stop to this plague of hail? The
last stanza of the Qi Yue [She, 1. xv. ode 1; Mao #154; Legge p. 232] shows the
method of storing ice."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 5th Year—536 B.C. (Legge, p. 600, col. 16 &
p. 604, col. 1)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
At an earlier period, on the birth
of Nuzi, Zhuang Shu [his father], consulted the Zhou Yi by the reeds about him
and got the diagram Ming Yi, which then became Qian. He showed this to the
diviner Chu Qiu, who said, "This [son] will have to leave [the state], but
he will return and offer the sacrifices to you. The entrance of a slanderer, of
the name of Niu, will be sufficient to make him die of starvation. [The
diagram] Ming Yi relates to the sun. The solar numbers are ten. Hence there are
ten periods in the day, which correspond also to the ten ranks. Reckoning from
the king downwards, the rank of duke is the second and that of minister is the
third. The highest point of the day is when the sun is in the meridian. When it
is meal time, that represents the second rank, and early dawn represents the
third. Ming Yi’s becoming Qian represents brightness, but that which is not yet
fully developed, corresponding, we may presume, to the early dawn. Therefore I
say: [this child will be minister and] offer the sacrifices for you. [The
diagram for] the sun’s becoming Qian has its correspondency in a bird. Hence we
read [on the lowest line of the diagram Ming Yi], ‘The brightness is injured in
its flight.’ And as the brightness is not fully developed, we read, ‘It droops
its wings.’ There is an emblem of the movement of the sun, and hence we read,
‘The superior man goes away.’ This happens with the third rank, in the early
dawn, and hence we read, ‘Three days he does not eat.’ Li [the lower trigram of
Ming Yi] represents fire, and Gen [the lower trigram of Qian] represents a
hill. Li is fire; fire burns the hill, and the hill is destroyed. But applied
to men, [Gen] denotes speech, and destroying speech is slander. Hence we read,
‘He goes whither he would, and to him, the lord, there is speech.’ That speech
must be slander. In [the diagram of] the double Li there is [mention made of] a
cow. The age is in disorder and slander overcomes; the overcoming goes on to
dismemberment, and therefore I say: His name will be Niu [= bull or cow]. Qian
denotes insufficiency. The flight is not high. Descending from on high, the
wings do not reach far. Hence, while I say that this child will be your
successor, yet you are the second minister, and he will fall somewhat short of
your dignity."

Duke
Zhao, year 5 — 536 B.C. (Legge p. 601, col. 8 & p. 604, col. 2)distinguishing LI (propriety; ceremonial conduct) from mere YI (deportment)
The duke went to Jin, and from his
reception in the suburbs to the gifts at his departure, he did not fail in any
point of ceremony. The marquis of Jin said to Ru Shu Qi, "Is not the
marquis of Lu good at propriety?" "How does the marquis of Lu know
propriety?" was the reply. "Wherefore [do you say so]?" asked
the marquis. "Considering that, from his reception in the suburbs to the
gifts at his departure, he did not err in a single point, why should you say
that he does not know propriety?" "That was deportment" said Shu
Zi, "and should not be called propriety. Propriety is that by which [a
ruler] maintains his State, carries out his governmental orders, and does not
lose his people. Now the government [of Lu] is ordered by the [three great] clans,
and he cannot take it [from them]. There is Zi Jia Ji, and he is not able to
employ him. He violates the covenants of our great state and exercises
oppression on the small State [of Jiu]. He makes his gain of the distresses of
others and is ignorant of his own. The [patrimony ] of his house is divided
into four parts, and [like one of] the people he gets his food from others. No
one thinks of him or takes any consideration for his future. The ruler of a
state, calamity will come upon him, and he has no regard to what is proper for
him to do. The beginning and end of his propriety should be in these matters,
and in small particulars he practises deportment, as if that were
all-important. Is it not far from correct to say that he is well acquainted with
propriety?"

Duke
Zhao, 6th year—535 BC (Legge, p. 607, col. 3 & p. 609, par. 2)Disastrous effects of inscribing laws on tripods
In the third month they cast
[tripods] in Zheng, with descriptions [of crimes and their] punishments [upon
them]. In consequence of this, Shi Jiang sent a letter to Zi Chan, saying,
"At first I considered you [as
my model], but now I have ceased to do so. The ancient kings deliberated on
[all the circumstances], and determined [on the punishment of crimes]; they did
not make [general] laws of punishment, fearing lest it should give rise to a
contentious spirit among the people. But still, as crimes could not be
prevented, they set up for them the barrier of righteousness, sought to bring
them all to a conformity with their own rectitude, set before them the practice
of propriety and the maintenance of good faith, and cherished them with
benevolence. They also instituted emoluments and places to encourage them to
follow [their example], and laid down strictly, punishments and penalties to
awe them from excesses. Fearing lest these things should be insufficient, they
therefore taught the people the [principles of] sincerity, urged them by
[discriminations of] conduct, instructed them in what was most important,
called for their services in a spirit of harmony, came before them in a spirit
of reverence, met exigencies with vigor, and gave their decisions with
firmness. And in addition to this, they sought to have sage and wise persons in
the highest positions, intelligent discriminating persons in all offices, that
elders should be distinguished for true-heartedness and good faith, and
teachers for their gentle kindness. In this way the people could be successfully
dealt with, and miseries and disorder be prevented from arising.
"When the people know what the
exact laws are, they do not stand in awe of their superiors. They also come to
have a contentious spirit, and make their appeal to the express words, hoping
perhaps to be successful in their argument. They can no longer be managed. When
the government of Xia had fallen into disorder, the penal code of Yu was made;
under the same circumstances of Shang, the penal code of Tang; and in Zhou, the
code of the nine punishments: those three codes all originated in ages of
decay.
"And now in your administration
of Zheng, you have made [your new arrangements for] dikes and ditches; you have
established your [new system of] governmental [requisitions], which has been so
much spoken against, and you have framed [this imitation of] those three codes,
casting your descriptions of [crimes and their] punishments. Will it not be
difficult to keep the people quiet, as you wish to do? The ode says,

I
imitate, follow, and observe the virtue of king Wen,

And
daily there is tranquillity in all the regions.

and
again,

Take
your pattern from king Wen,

And
the myriad States will repose confidence in you.

In
such a condition, what need is there for any code? When once the people know
the grounds for contention, they will cast propriety away, and make their
appeal to your descriptions. They will all be contending about a matter as
small as the point of an awl or a knife. Disorderly litigations will multiply,
and bribes will walk abroad. Zheng, will go to ruin, it is to be feared, in the
age succeeding yours. I have heard the saying that 'When a state is albout to
perish, there will be many new enactments in it.' Is your proceeding an
illustration of it ?"
To this letter Zi Chan returned the
following reply, "As to what you say, I have not the talents nor the
ability to act for posterity; my object is to save the present age. I cannot
accept your instructions, but I dare not forget your great kindness."
Shi Wen Bai said, "The Huo
[Fire] star has made its appearance. Is there going to be fire in Zheng? Before
the appearance of the Huo, it made use of fire to cast its punishment-tripods.
If the Huo is an emblem of fire, must we not expect fire [in Zheng]?". <div
align="right">

INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, year 7—534 B.C. (Legge, p. & p. 617,
col. 1)An eclipse of the sun is in response to bad government.
[from the Chun Qiu: In summer, in the fourth month, on jia-shuo, the sun was eclipsed.]
The marquis of Jin asked Shi Wen Bo
in whom [the omen of] the eclipse would be fulfilled, and was answered,
"Lu and Wei will both feel its evil effects, Wei to a greater extent, and
Lu to a less." "Why so?" said the marquis. "It went,"
said Wen Bo, "from Wei on to Lu. There will be calamity in the former, and
Lu will also feel it. The greater evil indicated is to light, perhaps, on the
ruler of Wei, and [the less] on the highest minister of Lu." The marquis
said, "What does the ode [Shi, II. iv. ode IX. 2; Mao #193; Legge, p. 321]
mean, when it said,
When the sun
is eclipsed,
How bad it
is!
The officer replied, "It shows the effects of bad government. When there
is not good government in a state, and good men are not employed, it brings
reproof to itself from the calamity of the sun and moon. Government, therefore,
must not in any wise be neglected. The three things to be especially attended
to in it are, first, the selection of good man [for office]; second, consideration
of the people; and, third, the right observance of the seasons."

Duke
Zhao, year 7—534 B.C.(Legge, p. 613, col. 10 & p. 618, col. 1)Can a deceased person become a ghost [GUI]?
The people of Zheng frightened one
another about Bo You [a heavy drinker, killed eight years earlier in a
power-struggle in Zheng] saying, "Bo You is here!" on which they
would all run off, not knowing where they were going. In the second month of
the year when the descriptions of punishments were cast [i. e., the previous
year], one man dreamed that Bo You walked by him in armor, and said, "On
ren-zi I will kill Dai, and next year, on ren-yin I will kill Duan." When
Si Dai did die on ren-zi, the terror of the people increased. [This year], in
the month that Qi and Yan made peace, on ren-yin, Gong Sun Duan died, and the
people were still more frightened, till in the following month Zi Chan
appointed Gong Sun Xie [son of a man put to death eighteen years earlier] and
Liang Zhi [son of Bo You], [as successors to their fathers], in order to soothe
the people, after which [their terrors] ceased.
Zi Tai Shu asked his reason for
making these arrangements, and Zi Chan replied, "When a ghost has a place
to go to, it does not become an evil spirit. I have made such a place for the
ghost." "But why have you done so with Gong Sun Xie?" pursued
Tai Shu. "To afford a reason for my conduct " was the reply. "I
contrived that there might be such a reason, because of the unrighteousness [of
Bo You]. The administrator of government has his proper course, and if he takes
contrary one, it is that he may give pleasure [to the people]. If they are not
pleased with him, they will not put confidence in him, and if they do not put
confidence in him, they will not obey him."
When Zi Chan went to Jin, Zhao Jing
Zi asked him whether it was possible for Bo You to become a ghost.
"Yes," replied Zi Chan. "When a man is born, [we see] in his
first movements what is called the animal soul [PO]. After this has been
produced, it is developed into what is called the spirit [HUN]. By the use of
things the subtle elements are multiplied, and the soul and spirit become
strong. They go on in this way, growing in etherealness and brightness, till
they become [thoroughly] spiritual and intelligent [SHEN MING]. When an
ordinary man or woman dies a violent death, the soul and spirit are still able
to keep hanging about men in the shape of an evil apparition. How much more
might this be expected in the case of Lian Xiao, a descendant of our former
ruler duke Mu, the grandson of Zi Liang, the son of Zi Er, all ministers of our
State, engaged in its government for three generations! Although Zheng be not
great, and in fact, as the saying is, an insignificant State, yet belonging to
a family which had held for three generations the handle of government, his use
of things had been extensive, the subtle essences which he had imbibed had been
many. His clan also was a great one, and his connections were distinguished. Is
it not entirely reasonable that, having died a violent death, he should be a
ghost?"

Duke
Zhao, 7th Year—534 B.C.(Legge, p. 615, col. 3 & p. 619, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
The lady Jiang, wife of Duke Xiang of Wei, had no son, but
his favorite, Zhou He, bore to him, first of all, Meng Zhi. Kong Zhengzi
dreamed that Kang Shu [the first marquis of Wei] told him that he must secure
the succession to Yuan, adding, "I will make Ji’s grandson, Yu, and Shi
Gou his ministers." She Zhao also dreamed that Kang Shu said to him,
"I will appoint your son, Gou, and Yu, the great-grandson of Kong Zheng
Chu, to be ministers to Yuan." Zhao went to see Zhengzi and told him this
dream, agreeing with that which he had had.
In the year that Han Xuanzi became
chief minister of Jin and went paying complimentary visits to the states, Zhou
He bore a [second] son and gave him the name of Yuan. The feet of Meng Zhi [her
first son] were not good, so that he was feeble in walking. Kong Zhengzi
consulted the Zhou Yi by the reeds, propounding the inquiry whether Yuan would
enjoy the state of Wei and preside over its altars, and he got the diagram Tun.
He also propounded the inquiry whether he should set up [Meng] Zhi, and if this
appointment would be acceptable, in answer to which he got Tun and then Bi. He
showed these results to Shi Zhao, who said, "Under Tun we have the words,
‘Great and penetrating [the character Yuan may be intrepreted as meaning
"great"].’ After this, can you have any doubts?" "But is it
not," said Zhengzi, "a description of the elder?" He replied,
"Kang Shu so named him, and we may therefore interpret it of the superior.
Meng is not a [complete] man; he cannot have a place in the ancestral temple;
he cannot be pronounced the superior. And moreover, under Tun it is said, ‘A
prince must be set up.’ If the heir were lucky, no other would have to be set
up. That term indicates another, and not the heir. The same words occur in both
your divinations. You must set up Yuan. Kang Shu commanded it, and both your
diagrams direct it. When the reeds accorded with his dream, King Wu followed
them. If you do not do so, what will you do? He who is feeble in walking must
remain at home. The prince has to preside at the altars, to be present at
sacrifices, take the charge of the people and officers, serve the spirits,
attend at conferences and visit other courts. How is it possible that he should
remain at home? Is it not right that each [of the brothers] should have what is
most advantageous to him?" In consequence of this, Kong Zhengzi appointed
Duke Ling [i.e., Yuan] in his father’s place, and in the twelfth month, on Gui
Hai, Duke Xiang was buried. <div align="right">

Duke Zhao, year 8, 533 B.C, Legge p. 620, col. 1, & p. 622Can a stone speak?
This spring a stone spoke in Wei Yu of Jin. The marquis
asked the
music-master Guang why it was that it did so. The music-master answered:
"Stones cannot speak. Perhaps this stone was possessed [by a spirit]. If
not,
then the people heard wrong. And yet I have heard that, when things are
done out of season and discontent and complaints are stirring among the
people, then speechless things do speak. Now palaces are being built, lofty
and extravagant, and the strength of the people is being exhausted. Discon-
tent and complaints are everywhere rife, [people feeling that] their life is
not
worth preserving. Is it not right that, in such circustances, stones should
speak?" At this time the marquis was building the palace of Si Qi.

Duke Zhao, 9th Year—532 BC (Legge, p. 624, col. 15 &
p. 626, par. 3)The cook takes responsibility for his ruler's wrong actions
Xun Ying of Jin had gone to Qi to
meet his bride, and as he was returning, he died, in the sixth month, at Xi
Yang. while his coffin remained unburied in Jiang, the marquis was [one day]
drinking and enjoying himself, when the chief cook, Tu Kuai, rushed into the
apartment and asked leave to assist the cupbearer. The duke having granted it,
he proceeded to fill a cup, which he presented to the music-master, saying,
"You are the ruler's ears and should see to his hearing well. If the day
be zi-mao, it is called an evil day, and the ruler does not feast on it nor
have music, and learners give up their study [of music] on it, because it is
recognized as an evil day. The ruler's ministers and assistants are his limbs.
If one of his limbs be lost, what equal occasion for sorrow could there be? You
have not heard of this and are practicing your music here, showing that your
hearing is defective."
He then presented another cup to the
inferior officer of the Exterior, the officer Shu, saying, "You are the
ruler's eyes and should see to his seeing clearly. The dress is intended to
illustrate the rules of propriety, and those rules are seen in the conduct of
affairs. Affairs are managed according to the things [which are the subject of
them], and those things are shown in the appearance of the person. Now the
ruler's appearance is not in accordance with the [great] things of today], and
you do not see this. Your seeing is defective."
He also drank a cup himself, saying,
"The combination of flavors [in diet] is to give vigor to the humors [of
the body], the effect of which is to give fullness and stability to the mind.
The mind is thus able to determine the words in which the orders of the
government are given forth. To me belongs that combination of flavors, and as
you two in attendance here have failed in the duties of your offices, and the
ruler has given no orders [condemnatory of you], I am chargeable with the
crime."
The marquis was pleased and ordered
the spirits to be removed. Before this, he had wished to remove the head of the
Zhi family [Xun Ying] from his office and to give it to a favorite officer of
an extraneous clan, but in consequence of this incident, he repented of his
purpose and gave it up. In autumn, in the eighth month, he made Xun Li [Ying's
son] assistant commander of the third army, by way of apology [for his dislike
of the family].

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, year 10—531 B.C. (Legge, p. 628, col. 2 &
p. 629, col. 2)Rejection of human sacrifice
In the seventh month, Ping Zi
invaded Ju and took Geng. In presenting his captives, he for the first time
sacrificed a human victim at the altar of Bo. When Zang Wu Zhong heard of this
in Qi, he said, "The duke of Zhou will not accept the sacrifice of Lu.
What he accepts is righteousness [YI], of which Lu has none. The ode [She, II,
i, ode 1.2; Mao #161; Legge, p. 246] says,
Their
virtuous fame is grandly brilliant;
They show
the people not to be mean.
The disregard of the people in this must be pronounced excessive. Thus using
men as victims, who will confer a blessing [on Lu]?

Duke
Zhao, year 11—530 B.C. (Legge p. 632, col. 7 & p. 634, col. 2)Ritual lapse indicates an absence of vital breath [Qi].
The viscount of Shen had an interview with Shan Xuan Zi in Qi. His looks were
bent downwards, and his words came slow and low. Han Xuan Zi said, "The
viscount of Shen will probably die soon. The places at audiences in the court
are definitely fixed; those at meetings abroad are marked out by flags. There
is the collar of the upper garment, and the knot of the sash. The words spoken
at meetings and audiences must be heard at the places marked out and
determined, so that the order of the business may be clearly understood. The
looks must be fixed on the space between the collar and the knot, in order that
the bearing and countenance may be fitly regulated. The words are intended for
the issuing of orders; the bearing and countenance to illustrate them. Any
error in either of these is a defect. Now the viscount of Shen is the chief of
the king's officers, and when giving his instructions about business at this
meeting, his looks did not light above the sash, and his words did not reach
beyond a foot. His countenance showed no regulation of his bearing, and his
words gave no clear intelligence. The absence of such regulation was a want of
respect; the absence of such intelligence was a want [in his words] of
accordance [with reason]. He has not breath to preserve his life."

Duke
Zhao, year 11—530 B.C. (Legge, p. 632, col. 13 & p. 635, col. 1)Rejection of human sacrifice
In winter, in the eleventh month,
the viscount of Chu extinguished Cai and sacrificed the marquis' eldest son Yin
on Mount Gang. Shen Wu Yu said, "This is inauspicious. The five animals
used as victims cannot be employed one for another; how much less can a prince
of a state be employed as a victim! The king will have occasion to repent of
this."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 12th Year—529 B.C.(Legge, p. 637, col. 7 &
p. 640, par.8)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted. It gives a valid oracle only
in matters of loyalty and good faith.
When Nan Kuai was about to revolt, a
man of the same village was acquainted with his purpose and passed by him,
sighing as he did so. He also said, "Alas! Alas! A case of difficulty and
hazard! His thoughts are deep, and his plans are shallow. Circumscribed is his
position, and his aims are far-reaching. The servant of a family, his schemes
affect the ruler. Such a man there is!"
Nan Kuai consulted by some twigs
about his object, without mentioning it and got the diagram Kun which then
became Bi. As it is said [upon the changed line], "Yellow for the lower
garment; great good fortune," he thought this was very lucky and showed it
to Zi Fu Hui Bo, saying, "If I am contemplating something, how does this
indicate it will turn out?"
Hui Bo replied, "I have learned
this: If the thing be one of loyalty and good faith, you may go forward with
it. If it be not, it will be defeated. The outer figure indicates strength, and
the inner mildness: expressive of loyalty. We have [also] harmony leading on
solidity: expressive of fidelity. hence the words, ‘Yellow for the lower
garment; greatness and good fortune.’ But yellow is the color of the center;
the lower garment is the ornament of that which is beneath; that greatness is
the height of goodness. If in the center [= the heart] there is not loyalty,
there cannot be the color; if below [= in an inferior] there be not the
respectful discharge of duty, there cannot be the ornament; if the affair be
not good, there cannot be that height. When the outer and inner are mutually
harmonious, there is loyalty; when affairs are done in fidelity, there is that
discharge of duty; an earnest nourishing of the three virtues makes that
goodness. Where there are not these three things, this diagram does not apply.
"Moreover, [this passage of]
the Yi cannot be a guide about anything hazardous. What thing are you
contemplating that should require that ornamenting? With what is admirable in
the center, you can predicate the yellow; with what is admirable above, you can
predicate that great goodness; with what is admirable below, you can predicate
that lower garment. Given these three all complete, and you may consult the reeds.
If they are defective, though the consultation may [seem to] be lucky, it is
not to be acted on."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 12th Year—529 B.C. (Legge, p. 637, col. 15 &
p. 640, par. 9)Admonishing the king by means of ancient ode not to ask for the tripods
The viscount of Chu was celebrating
the winter hunt in Zhou Lai, and halted at the junction of the Ying [with the
Wei], from which he sent the marquis of Dang, the viscount of Puan, the marshal
Du, Wu the director of Xiao, and Xi the director of Ling, with a force to
besiege [the capital of] Ling, in order to alarm Wu, while he himself would
halt at Gan Xi to afford them what help they might require.
The snow was falling, and the king
went out with a whip in his hand, wearing a fur cap, the cloak sent to him from
Qin ornamented with kingfishers' feathers, and in shoes of leopard skin. He was
followed by his charioteer, Xi Fu. In the evening Zi Ge [Tan of Ch'ing], director of the Right, waited
upon him, and when the king saw him, he put off his cap and cloak, laid aside
his whip, and spoke with him.
"Formerly," said he,
"my ancestor Xiong Yi, with Lu Ji, Wang Sun Mou, Xie Fu, and Qin Fu, all
served together king Kang. The four States of those princes all received
[precious] gifts, only we [in Chu] got none. If I now send a messenger to Zhou
and ask for the tripods as our share, will the king give them to me?"
"He will give them, O ruler and
king," was the reply. "Formerly, our king, Xiong Yi, lived meanly by
mount Jing, in a deal carriage, with tattered clothes, as befitted his position
amid the uncultivated wilds, climbing the hills and wading through the streams
in the service of the son of Heaven, with a bow of peach wood and arrows of
thorn, discharging his defence of the king. [On the other hand, Leu Keih of] Qi was king [Ch'ing's] maternal uncle; [T'ang-shuh of] Jin was his own brother,
and [the fathers of K'in-foo of] Lu and [Seeh-foo of] Wei were king [Wu's] own brothers. Thus it was that [the
prince of] Chu received no [precious] gifts, and all those other princes did.
But now Zhou and those four States are submissive to you, O ruler and king, and
you have only to order them to be obeyed. How should [Zhou] grudge you the
tripods?"
The king pursued, "Formerly,
the eldest brother of our remote ancestor dwelt in the old territory of Xu; but
now the people of Zheng in their greed possess that territory and enjoy the
benefit of it, and have refused to give it to us. If I ask it [now], will they
give it?" Ze Ge again replied, "They will give it to you, O ruler and
king. If Zhou do not grudge its tripods, will Zheng dare to grudge its
lands?"
The king went on, "Formerly the
States kept aloof from us and stood in awe of Jn. But now I have walled on a
great scale [the capitals of] Chen and Cai and the [two] Bu Lang, each of which
can levy a thousand chariots, and for this I am much indebted to you. Will the
States now stand in awe of me?" "They," was the reply, "will
stand in awe of you, O ruler and king! Those four States are themselves
sufficient to awe them, and when there is added to them the power of Chu, will
the States dare not to stand in awe of you, O ruler and king?"
[At this moment] Lu, director of
Works, came with a request, saying, "Your majesty ordered me to break a
baton of jade [to ornament] the handle of an axe. I venture to ask for further
instructions." The king went in to see the work, and then Xi Fu said to Zi
Ge, "You are looked up to by the State of Chu, but now, in talking to the
king, you have been but his echo. What will the State think of you?" Zi Ge
replied, "I have been sharpening [my weapon] on the whetstone to await [my
opportunity]; when the king comes out, I will cut down [his extravagance] with
the edge of it."
When the king came out, he was
resuming the conversation, and Yi Xiang, the historiographer of the Left,
passed by. "There," said the king, "is an excellent
historiographer. He can read the three Fen, the five Dian, the eight Suo, and
the nine Qiu." "I have questioned him," was the reply.
"Formerly king Mu wished to indulge his [extravagant] desire and travel
over all under heaven, so that the ruts of his chariot wheels and the prints of
his horses' feet should be everywhere. Mou Fu, duke of Ji, then made the ode of
Qi Shao, to repress the ambition of the king, who died in consequence a natural
death in the palace of Zhi. I asked [Yi Xiang] about the ode, and he did not
know it. If I were to ask him about anything more ancient, how should he be
able to know it?" "Can you repeat it?" asked the king. Zi Ge
replied, "I can. The ode said:

How mild is the course of our minister Shao!

How fitted to show [the king's] virtuous fame!

He would order his measures and movements,

As more valuable than gold or gem.

Beyond the people's strength he would not go,

Nor drunkard's thirst nor glutton's greed would
know."

The
king bowed to him and went in. For several days he would not eat what was
brought to him, nor was he able to sleep, but he was not able to subdue
himself, and so he came to his evil [end].
Zhong Ni [Confucius] said, "It
is contained in an ancient book that to subdue oneself and return to propriety
is perfect virtue" [cf. Analects 12.1]. True is the saying and excellent. If King
Ling of Chu could have done this, he would not have come to disgrace at Gan Qi.
<div align="right">

INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 14th Year—527 BC(Legge p. 654 & 656)An official disgraces his own brother’s corpse for corruption. Confucius
comments.
Xing Hou of Jin and Yong Zi had a
dispute about some lands of Chu, which continued unsettled for a long time.
When Shi Jing Bai went to Chu, Shu Yu was charged for the time with the
administration of his duties, and Han Xuan Zi ordered him to settle this old
litigation. Yong Zi was in the wrong, but he presented his daughter as a gift
to Shu Yu, who thereon decided that Xing Hou was in the wrong. Xing Hou became
enraged and killed both Shu Yu and Yong Zi in the court. Xuan Zi consulted Shu
Xiang [brother of Shu Yu] about the crime and was answered, "The three
were all equally guilty. You must put him who is alive to death and expose his
body, and you must [further] disgrace the [two that are] dead. Yong Zi knew
that he was wrong and gave a bribe to buy a verdict in his favor; Fu sold his
judgment in the dispute, and Xing Hou took it upon himself to kill them. Their
crimes were equally heinous. To try to make himself right when he was wrong was
an instance of moral blindness; through covetousness to defeat the end of his
office was an instance of black impurity; to put men to death without fear [of
the law] was the act of a ruffian. One of the Books of Xia says, 'The morally
blind, the blackly impure, and ruffians are to be put to death.' Such was the
punishment appointed by Gao Yao. I beg you to follow it." Accordingly Xing
Hou was put to death and his body exposed, and the corpses of Yong Zi and Shu
Yu were [also] exposed in the market place.
Zhong Ni [Confucius] said, "The
justice of Shu Xiang was that which was transmitted from antiquity. In the
government of the state and determining the punishment [for an assigned crime],
he concealed nothing in the case of his own relative. Thrice he declared the wickedness
of Shu Yu without making any abatement. Whether we may say that he was
righteous [is doubtful], but he may be pronounced to have been straightforward.
At the meeting of Ping Qiu, he declared his [brother's] craving for bribes:
this was to give relief to Wei and save Jin from the practice of cruelty. In
getting Ji Sun to return to Lu, he declared his [brother's] deceit: this was to
relieve Lu and save Jin from the exercise of oppression. In this legal action
of Xing Hou, he mentioned his [brother's] covetousness: this was to keep the
records of punishment correct and save Jin from partiality. By his three
declarations he took away three evils and secured three advantages. He put his
brother to death and increased [his own] glory. But this has the semblance of
righteousness [only]."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 16th year—525 BC(Legge p. 661, col. 6 &
p. 663, par 2){Three narratives connected with Han Xuan Zi of Jin in Zheng.}Ceremonial rubrics are not the important thing
In the third month, Han Qi of Jin
went on a complimentary visit to Zheng, when the earl gave him an
entertainment. Zi Chan had warned [the various officers] beforehand, that all
of them who could claim positions in the court should behave with the utmost
respect. Kung Zhang, however, came late, and stood among the visitors. From
that place the director [of the ceremonies] made him remove. He then took his
place behind the visitors, from which also he was removed; and he [finally] went
among the instruments of music, followed by the smiles of the guests. When the
ceremony was over, Fu Zi reproved [Zi Chan], saying, "With the officers of
the great State we ought to be particularly careful. If we often give them
occasion to laugh at us, they will despise us. Though we all of us observed the
rules of ceremony, those men would think meanly of us; but when a State does
not observe the rules of ceremony, how can it seek for glory? Kung Zhang's
losing his place was a disgrace to you."
Zi Chan replied with indignation,
"If I issued commands which were not proper, gave out orders without
sincerity, took advantage of circumstances to be partial in punishing, allowed
litigations to be confused, were disrespectful at meetings [of the States] and
at other courts, caused the orders of the government to be disregarded, brought
on us the contempt of a great State, wearied the people without accomplishing
anything, or allowed crimes to occur without taking knowledge of them--any of
these things would be a disgrace to me. But Kung Chang is the descendant of Zi
Kung who was the elder brother of one of our rulers, [thus] the heir of a chief
minister and himself by inheritance a great officer. He has been sent on
missions to Zhou, is honored by the people of other states, and is known to the
princes. He has had his place in our court, and maintains the sacrifices in his
family [temple]. He has endowments in the State, and contributes his levies to
the army. At funerals and sacrifices [of our ruling house] he has [regular]
duties; he receives of the sacrificial flesh from our ruler, and sends of his
own to him. At the sacrifices in our ancestral temple, he has his assigned
place. He has been in offices under several rulers, and from one to another he
has kept his position. Though he forgot his proper course, how can that be a
disgrace to me? That prejudiced and corrupt men should all lay everything on me
as minister, is because the former kings did not appoint sufficient punishments
and penalties. You had better find fault with me for something else."

A
ring of jade(Legge,
p. 661, co. 13 & p. 664, 2d.)
Xuan Zi had a ring of jade, the
fellow of which was in the possession of a merchant of Zheng, and he begged it
from the earl. Zi Chan, however, refused it, saying, "It is not an article
kept in our government treasury; our ruler knows nothing about it." Zi Tai
Shu and Zi Yu said to him, "It is not a great request which Han Zi has
made, nor can we yet show any swerving from our allegiance to the State of Jin.
Han Zi of that State is not to be slighted. If any slanderous persons should
stir up strife between it and Zheng, and the Spirits should assist them, so as
to arouse its evil indignation, regrets [for your refusals] would be in vain.
Why should you grudge a ring, and thereby bring on us the hatred of the great
State? Why not ask for it and give it to him?"
Zi Chan replied, "I am not
slighting Jin, nor cherishing any disaffection to it. I wish all my life to
serve it, and therefore I do not give [Han Zi this ring]; [the refusal] is a
proof of my loyalty and good faith. I have heard that a superior man does not
consider it hard to be without wealth, but that his calamity is to be in office
and not acquire a good name. I have heard that the minister of a State does not
consider the ability to serve great States and foster small ones to be his
difficulty, but thinks it a calamity when he does not keep to the rules of
propriety so as to establish his position. Now, when the officers of a great
State are sent to a small State, if they all get what they seek, what will
there be to give to them [all]? If one be gratified and another denied, the
number of its offences will be [deemed to be] increased. If the requisitions of
the great State are not repulsed on the principles of propriety, it will become
insatiable. We shall become [as one of] its border cities, and so lose our
position. If Han Zi, sent here on his ruler's commission, asks for this gem, it
shows an excessive greed. Shall we make an exception of this as if it were not
a crime? Why should we produce this piece of jade, thereby originating two
crimes, the loss of our own position, and the development of Han Zi's greed?
Would it not be very trivial traffic with a piece of jade to purchase such
crimes?"
Han Zi [himself then went to]
purchase [the ring] from the merchant. When the price had been settled, the
merchant said that he must inform the ruler, and the great officers [of the
transaction], on which Han Zi made a request to Zi Chan, saying,
"Formerly, I asked for this ring, and when you thought that my doing so
was not right, I did not presume to repeat the request. Now I have bought it of
the merchant, who says that he must report the transaction, and I venture to
ask [that you will sanction it]."
Zi Chan replied, "Our former
ruler, duke Huan, came with the [ancestor of this] merchant from Zhou. Thus
they were associated in cultivating the land, together clearing and opening up
this territory, and cutting down its tangled southernwood and orach. Then they
dwelt in it together, making a covenant of mutual faith to last through all
generations, which said, 'If you do not revolt from me, I will not violently
interfere with your traffic. I will not beg or take anything from you, and you
may have your profitable markets, precious things, and substance, without my
taking any knowledge of them.' Through this attested covenant, [our rulers and
the descendants of that merchant] have preserved their mutual relations down to
the present day. Now your Excellency having come to us on a friendly mission,
and asking our State to take away [the ring] from the merchant by force, this
was to request us to violate that covenant. Is not such a thing improper? If
you get the jade, and lose a State, you would not [wish to] do the thing. If
when your great State commands, we must satisfy it without any law, Zheng
becomes one of your border cities, and I would not wish to be party to such a thing.
If we present the jade to you, I do not know what the consequence may be, and
venture privately thus to lay the case before you."
Han Zi then declined the jade,
saying, "I presumed in my stupidity to ask for the jade, which would have
occasioned two [such] crimes. Let me now presume to decline it."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Policy indicated by the Odes(Legge, p. 662, col. 7 &
p. 664, 3d.)
In summer, in the fourth month, the
six ministers of Zheng gave a parting feast to Xuan Zi in the suburbs, when he
said to them, "Let me ask all you gentlemen to sing from the odes, and I
will thence understand the views of Zheng."
Zi Zou then sang the Ye you man
cao [I. vii.
ode xx, Legge p. 147; Waley #1], and Xuan Zi said, "Good! young Sir. I
have the same desire."
Zi Chan sang the Gao qiu of [the odes of] Zheng [I. vii.
ode VI, Legge p. 132; Waley #119], and Xuan Zi said, "I am not equal to
this."
Zi Tai Shu sang the Qian chang [I. vii. ode XIII, Legge p.
140; Waley #39], and Xuan Zi said, "I am here. Dare I trouble you to go to
any other body?" on which the other bowed to him. Xuan Zi then said,
"Good! your song is right. If there were not such an understanding, could
[the good relations of our States] continue?"
Zi You sang the Feng yu [I. vii. ode XVI, Legge p. 143;
Waley #91]. Zi Qi sang the You nu tong che [ode IX, Legge p. 137; Waley #82]. Zi Liu sang the
Tuo xi [ode
XI, Legge p. 138; Waley #210].
Xuan Zi was glad, and said,
"Zheng may be pronounced near to a flourishing condition! You, gentlemen,
received the orders of your ruler to confer on me this honor, and the odes you
have sung are all those of Zheng, and all suitable to this festive
friendliness. You are all Heads of clans that will continue for several
generations; you may be without any apprehensions."
He then presented them all with
horses, and sang the Wo jiang [IV. i. Bk i. ode VII, Legge p. 575; Waley #220]. Zi Chan bowed
in acknowledgment, and made the other ministers do the same, saying, "You
have quieted the confusion [of the States]. Must we not acknowledge your
virtuous services?"
[After this], Xuan Zi went privately
to Zi Chan, and presented him with a piece of jade and [two] horses, saying,
"You ordered me to give up that [ring of] jade. It was giving me a piece
of jade and saving my life. I dare not but make my acknowledgments with these
things in my hand."

In
summer, in the fifth month, the Huo [fire] star made its first appearance at
dusk. On the bing-zi day, there was wind, and Zi Shen said, “This is called a
north-east wind; it is a prelude of fire. In seven days, we may presume, the
fire will break out.” On the wu-yin day the wind was great; on the ren-wu day
it was vehement, and the capitals of Song, Wei, Chen, and Zheng all caught
fire. Zi Shen went up on top of the magazine of Da Ting to look in the
direction of them and said, “In a few days, messengers from Song, Wei, Chen,
and Zheng will be here with announcements of fire.”

Bi
Zao said, “If you do not do as I said [after the appearance of a comet and
prediction of its path, he had recommended performance of a sacrifice, using a
special goblet and a jade libation cup, to ward off the danger], Zheng will
suffer from fire again.” The people also begged that his advice should be
taken, but Zi Chan still refused. Zi Tai Shu said, “The use of precious article
is to preserve the people. If there be another fire, our city will be nearly
destroyed. If they can save it from that destruction, why should you grudge
them?” Zi Chan replied, “The way of Heaven is distant, while the way of man is
near. We cannot reach to the former; what means have we of knowing it? How
should Zao know the way of Heaven? He is a great talker, and we need not wonder
if his words sometimes come true.” Accordingly he would not agree to the proposal,
and there was no repetition of the fire.

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 20th Year—521 BC(Legge pp. 678 & 683)Praying to the spirits must be accompanied by benign governing.
The marquis of Qi had a scabbiness
which issued in intermittent fever, and for a whole year he did not get better,
so that there were many visitors from the various states who had come to
inquire about him. Ju of Liang Qiu and Yi Kuan said to him, "We have
served the spirits more liberally than former rulers did, but now your lordship
is very ill, to the grief of all the princes. It must be the crime of the
priests and the historiographers. The states, not knowing this, will say that
it is because we have not been reverential [to the spirits]. Why should your
lordship not put to death the priest Gu and the historiographer Yin, and
thereupon give an answer to your visitors."
The marquis was pleased and laid the
proposal before Yan Zi, who replied, "Formerly, at the covenant of Song,
Qu Jian asked Zhao Wu of what kind had been the virtue of Fan Hui. He was
answered, 'The affairs of his family were well regulated; when conversing [with
his ruler] about the state, he told the whole truth, without any private views
of his own. His priests and historiographers, at his sacrifices, set forth the
truth and said nothing to be ashamed of. The affairs of his family afforded no
occasion for doubt or fear, and his priests and historiographers did not pray
about them." Jian reported this to king Kang, who said, 'Since neither
spirits nor men could resent his conduct, right was it he should distinguish
and aid five rulers and make them lords of covenants.'"
The marquis said, "Ju and Kuan
said that I was able to serve the spirits, and therefore they wished the priest
and historiographer to be executed. Why have you repeated these words [in
reference to their proposal]?" Yan Zi replied, "When a virtuous ruler
is negligent of nothing at home or abroad, when neither high nor low have any
cause for dissatisfaction, and none of his movements are opposed to what
circumstances require, his priests and historiographers set forth the truth,
and he has nothing to be ahsamed of in his mind. Therefore the spirits accept
his offerings, and the state receives their blessing, in which the priests and
historiographers share. The plenty and happiness [of the state] and the
longevity [of the people] are caused by the truth of the ruler; the words [of
the priests and historiographers] to the spirits are honest and faithful
accordingly. If they meet with a ruler abandoned to excesses, irregular and
vicious at home and abroad, causing dissatisfaction and hatred to high and low,
his movements and actions deflected from and opposed to the right, following
his desires and satisfying his private aims, raising lofty towers and digging
deep ponds, surrounding himself with the music of bells and with dancing girls,
consuming the strength of the people, and violently taking from them their
accumulations of wealth--who thus carries out his violation of the right, not
caring for his posterity, oppressive and cruel, giving the reins to his lusts,
wildly proceeding without rule or measure, without reflection or fear, giving
no thought to the maledictions of the people, having no fear of the spirits,
and however the spirits may be angry and the people may suffer, entertaining no
thought of repentance--the priests and historiographers, in setting forth the
truth, must speak of his offences. If they cover his errors and speak of excellences,
they are bearing false testimony; when they would advance or retire, they have
nothing which they can rightly say, and so they may vainly seek to flatter.
Therefore the spirits will not accept the offerings, and the state is made to
suffer misery, in which the priests and historiographers share. Short lives,
premature deaths, bereavements and sicknesses are caused by the oppression of
the ruler; the words [of the priests and historiographers] are false, and an
insult to the spirits."
The duke said, "Well, then,
what is to be done?" Yan Zi replied "[What is proposed] will be of no
avail. The trees of the hills and forests are watched over [for your use] by
the heng lu; the reeds and rushes of the marshes by the zhou jiao; the firewood
of the fens by the yu hou; and the salt and cockles of the seashore by the qi
want. The people of the districts and borders are made to enter and share in
the services of the capital. At the barrier-passes near the capital, oppressive
duties are levied on the private [baggage of travelers]. The places of the
great officers which should come to them by inheritance are forcibly changed
for bribes. There are no regular rules observed in issuing the common measures
of government. Requisitions and exactions are made without measure. Your
palaces and mansions are daily changed. You do not shun licentious pleasures.
The favorite concubines in your harem send forth and carry things away from the
markets; your favorite officers abroad issue false orders in the borders, thus
nourishing the gratification of what they selfishly desire. And if people do
not satisfy them, they [make them criminals] in return. The people are pained
and distressed; husbands and wives join in cursing [the government]. Blessings
are of benefit, but curses are injurious. From Liao She on the east and from Gu
You on the west, the people are many. Although your prayers may be good, how
can they prevail against the curses of millions? If your lordship wishes to
execute the priest and the historiographer, cultivate your virtue, and then you
may do it."
The marquis was pleased and made his
officers institute a generous government, pull down the barrier-passes, take
away prohibitions, make their exactions lighter, and forgive debts.

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, 20th Year—521 BC(Legge pp. 679 & 684)A forester doesn't respond to a signal. Confucius comments.
In the twelfth month, the marquis of
Qi was hunting in Pei and summoned the forester to him with a bow. The forester
did not come forward, and the marquis caused him to be seized. When he
explained his conduct, he said, "At the huntings of our former rulers, a
flag was used to call a great officer, a bow to call an inferior one, and a fur
cap to call a forester. Not seeing the fur cap, I did not dare to come
forward." On this he was let go.
Zhong Ni [Confucius] said, "To
keep the rule [of answering a ruler's summons] is not so good as to keep [the
special rule for] one's office. Superior men will hold this man right."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Genuine harmony is like soup (Legge, p. 679, col. 10 &
p. 684, 3d.)
When the marquis of Qi returned from
his hunt, Yan Zi was with him in the tower of Chuan, and Zi You [also called
Ju] drove up to it at full speed. The marquis said, "It is only Ju who is
in harmony with me!" Yan Zi replied, "Ju is an assenter merely; how
can he be considered in harmony with you?" "Are they different,"
asked the marquis, "harmony and assent?"
Yan Zi said, "They are
different. Harmony may be illustrated by soup. You have the water and fire,
vinegar, pickle, salt, and plums, with which to cook fish. It is made to boil
by the firewood, and then the cook mixes the ingredients, harmoniously
equalizing the several flavors, so as to supply whatever is deficient and carry
off whatever is in excess. Then the master eats it, and his mind is made
equable. So it is in the relations of ruler and minister. When there is in what
the ruler approves of anything that is not proper, the minister calls attention
to that impropriety, so as to make the approval entirely correct. When there is
in what the ruler disapproves of anything that is proper, the minister brings
forward that propriety, so as to remove occasion for the disapproval. In this
way the government is made equal, with no infringement of what is right, and
there is no quarrelling with it in the minds of the people. Hence it is said in
the ode (IV. iii. ode 11.),

There are also the well-tempered soups,

Prepared beforehand, the ingredients

Rightly proportioned.

By these offerings we invite his presence

Without a word;

Nor is there now any contention in the service.

As the ancient kings established the doctrine of the five flavors, so they made
the harmony of the five notes, to make their minds equable and to perfect their
government. There is an analogy between sounds and flavors. There are the
breath, the two classes of dances, the three subjects, the materials from the four
quarters, the five notes, the six pitch-pipes, the seven sounds, the eight
winds, the nine songs; [by these nine things the materials for music] are
completed. Then there are [the distinctions of] clear and thick, small and
large, short and long, fast and slow, solemn and joyful, hard and soft,
lingering and rapid, high and low, the commencement and close, the close and
the diffuse, by which the parts are all blended together. The superior man
listens to such music, that his mind may be composed. His mind is composed, and
his virtues become harmonious. Hence it is said in the ode (I. xv. ode VIL 2),

There
is no flaw in his virtuous fame.

Now it is not so with Ju. Whatever you say 'Yes' to, he also says 'Yes.'
Whatever you say 'No' to, he also says 'No.' If you were to try to give water a
flavor with water, who would care to partake of the result? If lutes were to be
confined to one note, who would be able to listen to them? Such is the
insufficiency of mere assent."
They were drinking and joyous, when
the marquis said, "If from ancient times till now there had been no death,
how great would men’s pleasure have been!" Yan Zi replied, "If from
ancient times till now there had been no death, how could your lordship have
shared in the pleasure of the ancients? Anciently the Shuang Jiu occupied this
territory. To them succeeded the House of Ji Ce. Bo Ling of Feng followed, and
then the House of Pu Gu, after which came your ancestor, Tai Gong. If the
ancients had not died, the happiness of the Shuang Jiu is what you never could
have desired." <div align="right">

[The
Zuo Zhuan continues with another narrative.]Harmony between strict and lenient ruling
Zi Chan was ill and said to Zi Tai
Shu, "When I die, the government is sure to come into your hands. It is
only the perfectly virtuous who can keep the people in submission by clemency.
For the next class of rulers, the best think is severity. When fire is blazing,
the people look to it with awe, and few of them die from it. Water again is
weak, and the people despise and make sport with it, so that many die from it.
It is difficult therefore to carry on a mild government."
After being ill several months, he
died, and Tai Shu received the administration of the government. He could not
bear to use severity and tried to be mild. The consequence was that there were
many robbers in the state, who plundered people about the marsh of Huan Fu. Tai
Shu repented of his course, saying, "If I had sooner followed the advice
of Zi Chan, things would not have come to this." He then raised his troops
and, attacking the robbers of Huan Fu, killed them all, on which robbers
generally diminished and disappeared. Zhong Ni [Confucius] said, "Good!
When government is mild, the people despise it. When they despise it, severity
must take its place. When government is severe, the people are slaughtered.
When this takes place, they must be dealt with mildly. Mildness serves to
temper severity, and severity to regulate mildness. It is in this way that the
administration of government is brought to harmony. The ode says:

The people indeed are heavily burdened,

But perhaps a little ease may be got for them.

Deal kindly in this center of the kingdom.

That has reference to the employment of mildness.

Give no indulgence to deceit and obsequiousness

In order to make the unconscientious careful

And repress robbers and oppressors

Who have no fear of the clear will of Heaven.

That has reference to the substitution for it of
severity.

So may you encourage the distant

And help the near,

And establish the throne of our king.

[All
three stanzas are from the ode found in Legge, vol. V, p. 495; Mao 253]

That
has reference to the harmonious blending of both of these. Another ode says:

He was neither violent nor remiss,

Neither hard nor soft.

Gently he spread his instructions abroad,

And all dignities and riches were concentrated in
him.

That has reference to the perfection of such
harmony."

When Zi Chan died and Zhong Ni heard of it, he shed tears and said, "He
afforded a specimen of the love transmitted from the ancients." <div
align="right">

INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, year 25—516 B.C. (Legge p. 704, col. 1 &
p. 708, col. 1)The loss of HUN PO leads to death.
This spring, Shu Sun Chuo having
gone to Song on a complimentary mission, the Master of the Right, who lived
near the Tong gate, visited him, and spoke meanly of the great officers of the
state, and especially so of the Minister of Works. Chao Zi told his people
about the conversation, saying, "The Master of the Right will probably
have to flee from the state. The superior man tries to dignify his own person,
and then goes on to dignify others; he thereby observes the rules of propriety.
But the master vilifies the great officers [of his state] and speaks
contemptuously of the head of his own surname. He is thereby treating his own
person with contempt. Can he have any rules of propriety? But without those
rules, he is sure to come to ruin." The duke of Song gave Chao Zi a
pub-lic reception and sang the Sin Kong (A lost ode), to which Chao Zi
responded with the Ju Xia (II. vii. ode IV = Mao 218). Next day, at the feast,
when they were merry with drinking, the duke made him sit on his right, when they
wept as they talked together. Yue Qi was assisting [at the ceremonies] and
reported this to others, when he had retired, saying, "This year both our
ruler and Shu Sun are likely to die. I have heard that joy in the midst of
grief and grief in the midst of joy are signs of a loss of mind. The essential
vigour and brightness of the mind is what we call the HUN and the PO.
When these leave it, how can the man continue long?"

Duke
Zhao, 25th Year—516 BC (Legge, p. 704, col. 8 & p. 708, 2nd column)Ceremonies [LI] are the fabric of life
In summer, a meeting was held at
Huang Fu, to consult about the royal house. Zhao Jian Zi [of Jin] [Zhao Yang]
gave orders to the great officers of the various States to contribute grain to
the king, and to provide men to guard his territory, saying, "Next year we
will instate him."
Zi Tai Shu had an interview with
Zhao Jian Zi and was asked by him about the ceremonies of bowing, yielding
precedence, and moving from one position to another. "These," said Zi
Tai Shu, "are matters of deportment and not of ceremony. "
"Allow me to ask," said
Jian Zi, "what we are to understand by ceremonies."
The reply way, "I have heard
our late great officer Zi Chan say, 'Ceremonies [are founded in] the regular
procedure of Heaven, the right phenomena of earth, and the actions of men.'
Heaven and earth have their regular ways, and men take these for their pattern,
imitating the brilliant bodies of Heaven, and according with the natural
diversities of the Earth [Heaven and Earth] produce the six atmospheric
conditions and make use of the five material elements. Those conditions [and
elements] become the five tastes, are manifested in the five colors, and displayed
in the five notes. When these are in excess, there ensue obscurity and
confusion, and the people lose their [proper] nature. The rules of ceremony
were therefore framed to support [that nature]. There were the six domestic
animals, the five beasts [of the chase], and the three [classes of] victims, to
maintain the tastes. There were the nine [emblematic] ornaments [of robes] [cf.
Shu II. iv. 4], with their six colors and five methods of display, to maintain
the five colors. There were the nine songs, the eight winds, the seven sounds,
and the six pitch-pipes, to maintain the five notes. There were ruler and
minister, high and low, in imitation of the distinctive characteristics of the
earth. There were husband and wife, with the home and the world abroad, the
spheres of their respective duties. There were father and son, elder and
younger brother, aunt and sister, maternal uncles and aunts, father-in-law and
connections of one's children with other members of their mother's family, and
brothers-in-law--to resemble the bright luminaries of heaven. There were duties
of government and administration, services especially for the people,
[legislative] vigor, the force of conduct, and attention to what was required
by the times--in accordance with the phenomena of the four seasons. There were
punishments and penalties, and the terrors of legal proceedings, making the
people stand in awe, resembling the destructive forces of thunder and
lightning. There were mildness and gentleness, kindness and harmony, in imitation
of the producing and nourishing action of Heaven. There were love and hatred,
pleasure and anger, grief and joy, produced by the six atmospheric conditions.
Therefore [the sage kings] carefully imitated these relations and analogies [in
forming ceremonies], to regulate those six impulses. To grief there belong
crying and tears; to joy, songs and dancing; to pleasure, beneficence; to
anger, fighting and struggling. Pleasure is born of love, and anger of hatred.
Therefore [the sage kings] were careful judges of their conduct and sincere in
their orders, appointing misery and happiness, rewards and punishments, to
regulate the death and life [of the people]. Life is a good thing; death is an
evil thing. The good thing brings joy; the evil thing gives grief. When there
is no failure in the joy and grief, we have a state in harmony with the nature
of Heaven and Earth, which consequently can endure long."
Jian Zi said, "Extreme is the
greatness of ceremonies!"
"Ceremonies," replied Zi
Tai Shu, "determine the relations of high and low; they are the warp and
woof of Heaven and Earth; they are the life of the people. Hence it was that
the ancient kings valued them, and hence it is that the man who can now bend,
now straighten himself so as to accord with ceremony is called a complete man.
Right is it that ceremonies should be called great!"
Jian Zi said, "I would wish all
my life to keep these words in mind [and observe them]."
Ye Da Xin of Song said, "We
shall not contribute grain; our [dukes] are guests of Zhou. How can such a
thing be required of guests?"
Shi Bo said, "Since [the
covenant of] Jian Tu, what service has there been in which Song has not shared,
what covenant in which is has not taken part? It was then said that the States
should together support the royal House. How can you evade this condition? You
are here by the command of your ruler to join in the great business in hand.
Would it not be improper for Song to violate the covenant?"
The master of the Right did not dare
to reply but received the schedule and retired.
Shi Bo reported the incident to Jian
Zi, saying, "The master of the Right of Song is sure to become an exile.
Bearing his ruler's orders as a commissioner here, he wished to break the
covenant and thereby come into collision with the lord of covenants. There
could be nothing more inauspicious than this." <div
align="right">

INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, year 26—515 B.C. (Legge, p. 714, col. 16
& p. 718, col. 1)A comet is not to be feared, if the ruler is virtuous.
There appeared a comet in Qi, and
the marquis gave orders for a deprecatory sacrifice. Yan Zi said to him,
"It is of no use; you will only practise a delusion. There is no
uncertainty in the ways of Heaven; it does not waver in its purposes. Why
should you offer a deprecatory sacrifice? Moreover, there is a broom-star in
the sky; it is for the removal of dirt. If your lordship have nothing about
your conduct that can be so described, what have you to deprecate? If you have,
what will it be diminished by your deprecation? The ode [Shi, III. I. ode II.
3; Mao #236; Legge, p. 433], says,
Then this
king Wan,
Watchfully
and reverently,
Did bright
service to God.
So did he
secure great blessing.
His virtue
was without deflection,
And he
received the allegiance of the states from all quarters.
Let your lordship do nothing contrary to virtue, and from all quarters the
states will come to you. Why should you be troubled about a comet? The ode [a
lost ode] says,
I have no
beacon to look at,
[But] the
sovereigns of Xia and Shang.
It was
because of their disorders
That the
people fell away from them.
If the conduct be evil and disorderly, the people are sure to fall away, and
nothing that priests and historiographers can do will mend the evil."
The marquis was pleased, and stopped the sacrifice.

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Zhao, year 26—515 B.C.(Legge, p. 715, col. 2 &
p. 718, col. 2)The rules for governing well are nothing new; they come from Heaven and
Earth.
The marquis of Qi was sitting with
Yan Zi in his state chamber, and said, "How beautiful is this chamber! Who
will have it [hereafter]?" "Allow me to ask," said Yan Zi,
"what you mean." "I suppose," the marquis replied,
"the possession of this will depend on [men's] virtue." The minister
said, " According to what your lordship says, the possessor will perhaps
be head of the Chen family. Although that family has not great virtue, it
dispenses bounties to the people. The dou, you, the fu, and the zhong, with
which it receives [its payments] from the state are small, but those with which
it gives out to the people are large. Your exactions are great, and the
benefactions of the Chen are great, so that the people are giving their
affections to that family. The ode [II. vii. ode IV. 3; Mao #218; Legge, p.
393] says,
Though I
have no virtue to impart to you,
We will sing
and dance.
The bounties of the Chen family to the people are making them sing and dance.
Hereafter, should any of your descendants be somewhat remiss, and the Chen
family not have disappeared, the state will belong to it."
"Good!" said the duke.
"What then ought to be done?" Yan Zi replied, "It is only an
attention to rules of propriety which can stop [the progress of events]. By
those rules, the bounties of a family cannot extend to all the state. Sons must
not change the business of their fathers: husbandry, some mechanical art, or
trade; inferiors must not be negligent; higher officers must not be insolent;
great officers must not take to themselves the privileges of the ruler."
"Good!" said the marquis.
"I am not able to attain to this; but henceforth I know how a state can be
governed by the rules of propriety." "Long have those rules possessed
such a virtue," was the reply. "Their rise was contemporaneous with
that of Heaven and Earth. That the ruler order and the subject obey, the father
be kind and the son dutiful, the elder brother loving and the younger
respectful, the husband be harmonious and the wife gentle, the mother-in-law be
kind and the daughter-in-law obedient--these are things in propriety. That the
ruler in ordering order nothing against the right, and the subject obey without
any duplicity; that the father be kind and at the same time reverent, and the
son be dutiful and at the same time able to remonstrate; that the elder
brother, while loving, be friendly, and the younger docile, while respectful;
that the husband be righteous, while harmonious, and the wife correct, while
gentle; that the mother-in-law be condescending, while kind, and the daughter-in-law
be winning, while obedient--these are excellent things in propriety."
"Good!" said the duke, [again]. "Henceforth I have heard the
highest style of propriety." Yan Zi replied, "It was what the ancient
kings received from Heaven and Earth for the government of their people, and
therefore they ranked it in the highest place."

<div align="right">INDEX</div>Duke Ding, year 10—499 B.C.(Legge p. 774, col. 2 &
p. 776, col. 2)Confucius in Lu as Director of Ceremonies: he uses his knowledge of
ceremonial to deflect a foreign threat.
In summer, the duke had a meeting
with the marquis of Qi at Zhu Qi, i.e., Jia Gu, when Kong Qiu [Confucius]
attended him as director [of the ceremonies]. Li Mi had said to the marquis,
"Kong Qiu is acquainted with ceremonies but has no courage. If you employ
some of the natives of Lai to come with weapons and carry off the marquis of
Lu, you will get from him whatever you wish." The marquis of Qi had
arrqanged accordingly, but Kong Qiu withdrew with the duke, saying, "Let
the soldiers smite those [intruders]. You and the marquis of Qi are met on
terms of friendship, and for those captives from the distant barbarous east to
throw the meeting into confusion with their weapons is not the way to get the
states to receive his commands. Those distant people have nothing to do with
our great land; those wild tribes must not be permitted to create disorder
among our flowery states; captives in war should not break in upon a covenant;
weapons of war should not come near a friendly meeting. As before the Spirits,
such a thing is inauspicious; in point of virtue, it is contrary to what is
right; as between man and man, it is a failure in propriety. The ruler [of Qi]
must not act thus." When the marquis heard this, he instantly ordered the
Lai people away.
When they were about to covenant
together, the people of Qi added to the words of the covenant these sentences:
"Be it to Lu according to [the curses of] this covenant, if, when the army
of Qi crosses its own borders, it do not follow us with 300 chariots of
war." On this Kong Qiu made Zi Wu Xuan reply with a bow, "And so be
it also to Qi, if, without restoring to us the lands of Wen Shang, you expect
us to obey your orders!" The
marquis of Qi wanted to give an entertainment to the duke, but Kong Qiu waid to
Liang Qiu Ju, "Are you not acquainted with former transactions between Qi
and Lu? The business is finished, and now to have an entertainment besides
would only be troubling the officers. our cups of ceremony, moreover, do not
cross our gates, and our admirable instruments of music are not fit for the
wild country. An entertainment at which things were not complete would be a
throwing away of the [proper] ceremonies. If things were not complete, it would
be like employing chaff and bai [instead of good grain]. Such employment would
be disgraceful to our rulers, and to throw away the proper ceremonies would be
to bring a bad report [upon our meeting]. Why should you not consider the
matter? An entertainment answers the purpose of displaying virtue. If that be
not displayed, it is better to have no entertainment."Accordingly the purpose of an
entertainment was not carried into effect.

Duke
Ding, year 15—495 B.C. (Legge, p. 790, col. 1 & p. 791, col. 1)LI (ceremonial conduct) is the embodiment (TI) of life and death.
When Duke Yin of Zhu appeared at the
court of Lu, Zi Gong [One of Confucius' most famous disciples] witnessed [the
ceremony between the two princes]. The viscount bore his symbol of jade [too]
high, with his countenance turned upwards; the duke received it [too] low, with
his countenance bent down. Zi Gong said, "Looking on [and judging]
according to the rules of ceremony [LI], the two rulers will [soon] die or go
into exile. Those rules are [as] a stem [TI] from which grow life or death,
preservation or ruin. We draw our conclusion from the manner in which parties
move to the right or to the left, advance and recede, look down and look up,
and we observe this at court-meetings and sacrifices, and occasions of death
and war. It is now in the first month that these princes meet at court
together, and they both violate the proper rules. Their minds are gone. On a
festal occasion like this, unobservant of such an essential matter, how is it
possible for them to continue long? The high symbol and upturned look are
indicative of pride; the low symbol and look bent down are indicative of
negligence. Pride is not far removed from disorder, and negligence is near to
sickness. Our ruler is the host, and will probably be the first to die."

Duke
Ai, 9th Year—487 B.C.(Legge, p. 818, col. 10 & p. 819, col. 2)The Zhou Yi (Yi Jing, I Ching) is consulted.
Zhao Yang consulted the
tortoise-shell about relieving Zheng and got the indication of fire meeting
with water. He asked an explanation of it from the historiographers Zhao, Mo,
and Gui. Gui said, "This is called ‘quenching the Yang [light or fire].’
[On the strength of this] you may commence hostilities, with advantage against
Jiang [i.e., Qi] but not against Zishang [Song]. You may attack Qi, but if you
oppose Song, the result will be unlucky." Mo said, "Ying [said to be
the surname of Zhao Yang] is a name of water. Zi [the surname of Song] is in
the position of water. To put the name and the position in antagonism is not to
be attempted. The emperor Yan had his fire-master from whom the house of Jiang
is descended. Water overcomes fire. According to this, you may attack the
Jiang." Zhao said, "We may say of this that we have indicated the
full channel of a stream, which cannot be swum through. Zheng is now an
offender [against Jin] and ought not to be relieved. If you go to assist Zheng,
the result will be unlucky. This is all that I know."
Yang Hu consulted the reeds on the
principles of the Yi of Zhou about the subject and found the diagram Tai, which
then became the diagram Xu. "Here," he said, "luck is with Song.
We must not engage [in conflict] with it. Qi, the viscount of Wei [the first
duke of Song] was the eldest son of Di Yi; there have been intermarriages
between Song and Zheng. The ‘happiness’ [that is mentioned in the comment on
the third line] denotes dignity. If the eldest son of Di Yi by the marriage of
his sister has good fortune and dignity, how can we have good fortune [in an
expedition against Song]?" [The purpose of helping Zheng] was accordingly
abandoned. <div align="right">

When
Kong Wen Zi was intending to attack Tai Shu, he consulted Zhong Ni [Confucius],
who said to him, “I have learned all about sacrificial vessels, but I have not
heard about buff-coats and weapons [cf. Analects 15.1],” and on retiring, he
ordered his carriage to be yoked and prepared for his departure from the state,
saying, “The bird chooses its tree; the tree does not choose the bird.” Wen Zi
hurriedly endeavored to detain him, saying, “How should I dare to be
considering my private concerns? I was consulting you with reference to the
troubles of the state.” He was about to stay, when messengers from Lu arrived
with offerings to invite him there, and he returned to his native state.

[In
Lu] Ji Sun wanted to lay a tax upon the lands. He sent Ran You to ask Zhong Ni
about the subject. He replied that he did not know about it. Three times he
gave this answer to inquiries pressed upon him. At last Ji Sun sent this
message: “You are an old officer of the state. I am now waiting for your
opinion to act. How is it that you will not give expression to it?” Zhong Ni
gave no reply, but he said privately to Ran You, “The conduct of a superior man
[JUNZI] is governed by the rules of propriety [LI]. In his benefactions, he
prefers to be liberal; in affairs of government, he seeks to observe the right
mean [ZHONG]; in his taxation, he tries to be light. According to this, the
contribution required by the qiu ordinance [a tax to support military
opertions] is sufficient. If Ji Sun be not governed by the rules of propriety,
but by a covetous daring and insatiableness, even though he enact this taxation
of the lands, it will still not be enough. If you and Ji Sun wish to act
according to the laws, there are the statutes of the Duke of Zhou still
existing. If you wish to act in an irregular manner, why do you consult me?”
His advice was not listened to.